THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/columbianhistoryOOsteaiala 


J  v_;  -f  o  j:> 


THE 


COLUMBIAN  HISTORY 


Education  IN  Wisconsin. 


yjl 


Edited  by  ]?  W\  STEARNS 


Published  under  authority  and  by  direction  of  the  State  Committee  on  Educationar 
Exhibit  for  Wisconsin,  1893. 


PRESS   OF 

Thk  Evrning  Wisconsin  Company, 
milwaukbr,  wis. 


U388 
S8 


Table  of  Contents. 


„  PAGE. 

Preface yjj 

A  Few  Guiding  Dates !!".."!!......"  vui 

ixTRODucTiox !.".!!!!!!!    i 

General  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Education  in  Wisconsin 9 

Early  Schools  in  AVisconsin,  by  Reuben  G.  Thwaites 78 

Universities,  Colleges,  Academies  and  Private  Schools — 

The  Universitv  of  Wisconsin,  by  Prof.  David  B.  Frankenburger.    8(5 

Lawrence  University,  bv  Pres.  C.  W.  Gallagher 117 

Beloit  College,  by  Prof."H.  M.  Whitnev V^i 

Ripon  College,  by  Ex-Pres.  Edward  H'.  Merrell 1&4 

Milton  College,  bv  Pres.  W.  C.  Whitford 189 

Downer  College,  by  Miss  Imogene  S.  Webster 197 

Carroll  College,  by  Pres.  W.  L.  Rankin 202 

Wayland  Academy,  by  Principal  H.J.  Vosburgh 216 

Kemper  Hall,  Kenoslaa,  by  Sisters  of  St.  Mary 222 

Kenosha  University  School  for  Boj's,  by  Principal  N.  Rowe....  225 

Institutions  for  the  Preparation  of  Teacher.s — 

Pedagogy  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  bv  Prof.  J.  W.  Stearns.  228 

The  State  Normal  Schools,  by  Pres.  A.  Salisbury 2:^1 

The  Teachers'  Institutes,  by 'Hon.  W.  H.  Chandler 294 

The  Wisconsin  Teachers'  A"ssociation,  bv  Prof.  J.  W.  Stearns...  3()5 

Summer  Schools  for  Teachers,  by  Prof.'J.  \V.  Stearns 314 

National    German-American    Teachers'    Seminary,   by  Emil 
Dapprich ' 317 

State  Institutions  for  Special  Classes — 

The  School  for  the  Deaf,  bv  Warren  Robinson 322 

The  School  for  the  Blind,  bv  Supt.  L.  S.  Pease 333 

The  Industrial  School  for  Boys,  by  E.  Dixon 348 

The  Industrial  School  for  Girls,  by  Mrs.  M.  E.  Lynde 350 

Free  Public  Schools  for  the  Deaf, 'by  Hon.  R.  C.  Spencer 354 

Special  Forms  and  Agencies  of  Education — 

The  Wisconsin  Farmers'  Institutes,  by  W.  H.  Morrison 378 

University  Extension  in  Wisconsin,  by  Prof.  F.  J.  Turner 391 

The  State  Historical  Society,  by  Sec'y  Reuben  G.  Thwaites 395 

The  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Arts  ana  Sciences,  by  Prof.  Wil- 
liam H.  Hobbs 406 

School  Libraries  in  Wisconsin,  by  F.  A.  Hutchins 410 

Citv  Libraries  in  WiscQiisin,  by  F.  A.  Hutchins 414 

Milwaukee  Citv  Library,  by  Miss  Theresa  West 422 

Milwaukee  Pulilic  Museum,  by  H.  Nehrling 428 

The  Wisconsin  Journal  of  Education,  by  Prof.  J.  W.  Stearns..  430 

City  School  Systems — 

The  Milwaukee  Public  Schools,  by  Prin.  Patrick  Donnelly 43(> 

The  Green  Bay  Public  Schools,  b'y  Mrs.  Cornelia  B.  Fielcl 46<> 

The  Public  Schools  of  Madison,  ])v  Reuben  G.  Thwaites 479 

Racine  City  and  Her  Schools,  bv  fl.  G.  Winslow 49»i 

The  Evolution  of  the  Free  School  at  Kenosha,  by  S.  Y.  Brande.  511 

The  Jauesville  Public  Schools,  by  Mary  L.  Beers 524 

The  Appleton  Public  Schools,  by  I.  N.' Stewart 537 

The  Fond  du  Lac  Public  Schools.'bv  Supt.  Edward  McLaughlin..  541 

The  Waukesha  Public  Schools,  b}-'  Theron  W.  Haight 547 

The  Eau  Claire  Public  Schools,  by  Rev.  A.  Kidder 554 

III 


TABLE   OF   CONTEXTS. 

PAGE. 

The  Public  Schools  of  Florence,  by  Prin.E.  D.  Rounds 562 

The  Jefferson  Public  Schools,  by  Isaac  Petersen 570 

The  Arcadia  Public  Schools,  by  J.  I.  Jegi 575 

CouxTV  School  Systems— 

Early  Grant  County  Schools,  bv  Pres.  Duncan  McGregor 578 

Iowa  County  Schools,  by  Mrs.  ^.  Montgomery  Smith 585 

Sauk  County  Schools,  by  Supt.  W.  H.  Schulz 599 

Polk  County  Schools,  by  Miss  Carrie  Asp 615 

St.  Croix  County  School's,  by  Miss  Lovila  M.  Mosher 624 

Buffalo  County  Schools,  by' George  Schmidt 628 

Barron  County  Schools,  b'v  X.  E.  Carver 632 

Shawano  County  Schools,  lay  Supt.  L.  D.  Roberts 6:S4 

LuTHEai.\N  Education  in  Wisconsin — 

The  Parochial  School  System,  bv  Prof.  F.  AV.  A.  Xotz (>40 

The  Northwestern  University,  by  Prof.  J.  H.  Ott 647 

Concordia  College,  Milwaukee,  by  Prof.  G.  W.  Mueller 651 

riipLic  Education  in  "Wisconsin — 
Catholic  Schools  and  Institutions,  by  Rt.Rev.Mgr.A.  Zeininger.  660 

Marquette  College 662 

St.  John's  Institute 668 

Catholic  Normal  School  of  the  Holv  Family  and  Pio  Nono 

College .' 670 

The  Provincial  Seminary  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales 672 

St.  Lawrence  College,  Mt.  Calvary 675 

St.  Catherine's  Academy,  Racine. 676 

St.  Clara's  Academy,  Sinsinawa  Mound 685 

Milwaukee  College  for  Women*,  by  Lilian  Bacon  Mallory 691 

Layton  Art  Gallery,  bv  Lilian  Bacon  Mallorv 718 


Catiio 


Index  of  Illustrations. 


PORTRAITS. 

Col.  Michael  Frank before  Preface 

Pres.  John  Bascom 99-100 

Pres.  T.  C.  Chamberlain 105-106 

Prof.  J.  W.  Stearns 109-110 

Pres.  C.  K.  Adams 115-116 

Pres.  Chapin,  Beloit  College 133-134 

Prof.  Emerson,  Beloit  College 139-140 

Prof.  Blaisdel,  Beloit  College 143-144 

Pres.  Eaton 147-148 

State  Supt.  Whitford 189-190 

Supt.  Pickard 26-  27 

Supt.  Robert  Graham 48-  49 

Supt.  O.  E.  Wells 70-  71 

Pres.  Albert  Salisbury 263-264 

Pres.  L.  D.  Harvey 268-269 

Pres.  G.  S.  Albee 272-273 

Pres.  D.  McGregor 276-277 

Pres.  J.  Q.  Emery 287-288 

W.  H.  Chandler 294-295 

Wm.  E.  Anderson 452-453 

Supt.  J.  G.  McMynn 502-503 

Supt.  H.  G.  Winslow 508-509 

Mary  Mortimer 690-691 

IV 


TABLE   OF  CONTENT'S. 
BUILDINGS. 

Beaver  Dam  library 415 

Beloit  college 137-145 

Beloit,  old  church 152 

Concordia  college 653 

Downer  college I99 

Florence  public  school 563 

German-EngliBh  academy 318 

Kenosha  high  school .'. 515 

Milwaukee  college Gi)5-709 

Northwestern  university 649 

Oshkosh  normal  school 265 

Racine  high  school 497 

Racine  Lincoln  school 499 

Ripon  college 155-171 

River  Falls  normal  school 267 

yt.  Francis  seminary 673 

University  of  Wisconsin 84-113 

Whitewater  normal  school 232 

Wisconsin  school  for  blind 337 

Wisconsin  school  for  deaf. 323,  326 


Index  of  Persons. 

PAGE. 

Adams,  C.  K 115 

Albee,  George  S 271,  505 

Allen,  W.  F 107 

Anderson,  AV.  E 45^^ 

Arev,    Oliver 270 

Bariaard,  Henry 96,  240-242,  298 

Bascom,  John 99 

Beecher,  Catherine 692,  698,  700 

Bell,  Alex.  Graham 360-370 

Benedicta,  Mother 676,  677 

Binner,  Paul 357-373 

Bodge,  E.  Sarah 198 

Briggs,  L.  W 473 

Bristol,  Sherlock 168 

Brown,  J.  J 128 

Cecilia,  M 677 

Chadbourne,  P.  A 59,  98 

Chamberlain,  T.  C 102 

Chapin,  A.  L 151 

Clapp,  Betsev  M '. 626 

Clark,  Robert  H 620 

Drapei,  L.  C 29,  398-4<10 

Elv,  Richard  T 43,  107,  108 

Farrar,  Charles  S 701-704 

Flagg,  Rufus  C 181 

Frank,  Michael 17 

Gerend,  M.  M 669,  672 

Graham,  Robert 264,  271,  liOO 

Hale,  John  E 622 

Heiss,  M 674 

Henrv,  W.  A 107,  :«! 

Hoara,  W.  D 381 

Y 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 

INDEX  OF  PERSONS— Continued. 

PAGE. 

Hutching,  A.  S 217 

Hyacintha,  Mother 677,  680 

Kuntz,  C.  C 612 

Laphani,  Increase  A 21,  23,  324,692,  7(X) 

Lau,  F.  C 447 

Lay  ton,  Frederick 713 

Lawrence.  Amos  A 118 

Lintield,  George  F 219 

Lunn,  J.  T 606 

Mapes,  D.  P _     154 

Mazzuchelli,  Samuel 83,  470,  685 

McAlister,  James 448 

McMynn,  J.  G 244,  249,  299,  503 

Mears,  Charles  E 620 

Merrell,  E.  H 174 

Merriman,  W.  E 164-167 

Morley,  J.  W 603 

Mortimer,  Mary 692-701 

Peckham,  George  W 455 

Pickard,  J.  L 298,580 

Rankin,  W.  L 208 

Root,  Eleazer 44,  202,  233 

Sabin,  Ellen  C 201 

Salzmann,  Joseph 671,  674 

Schulz,  W.  H 609 

Savage,  John  A 205 

Searing,  Edward 195 

Sheldon,  Mrs.  S.  L 393 

Sherman,  S.  S 699 

Smith,  Hiram 114,380 

Spicer,  A.  C 15)0,  195,  239 

Sprague,  A.  R 509 

Stearns,  J.  W 49,  271,  434 

Teirv,  J.  H 606 

Thayer,  J.  B 196,  272 

Thomasina,  Mother 678,  680 

Tracy,  Mrs.  C.  T 162,  173 

Viebahn,   C.   F 604 

Volland,  A.  J 509 

Walcott,  J,  W 157-160, 168 

Washburn,  C.  C ,...  39,  112 

Way,  Daisy 371 

Weld.  A.  H 625 

Whitford,»W.  C 191,  196 

Winslow,  H.  G 507,  510 

AViswall,  E.  C ; 607 

Wood,  N.  E 219 

Zeininger,  August , 674 


VI 


^ylA, ,  0  ^c^^J\ 


Colonel  niMcbacl  ifranl^. 

Colonel  Michael  Frank  is,  in  some  respects,  the  most  con- 
spicuous and  the  most  deservedly  honored  surviving  pioneer  of 
those  who  founded  the  public  school  system  of  Wisconsin. 
Son  of  a  German-born  American  soldier  of  the  revolution — bom 
in  New  York  state — educated  on  his  father's  farm  and  self- 
tutored,  he  began  his  signally  useful  life  as  a  champion  of  free- 
dom, and  an  advocate  of  temperance.  At  thirty-five  he  came 
to  AViscpnsin,  settled  at  Kenosha,  and  at  once  became  a  leader 
in  all  movements  looking  to  the  education  of  the  citizens  of  the 
territory.  He  secured  the  passage  of  the  first  bill  (1845)  to  es- 
tablish public  schools  in  Kenosha,  then  Southport.  The  meas- 
ure was  defeated  by  vote  of  the  people — but  next  year  earned, 
and  thus  became  the  nucleus  of  the  public  school  system  of 
Wisconsin. 

He  was  the  first  president  of  the  village  of  Kenosha,  in 
1848,  and  the  first  mayor  of  the  city,  in  1850.  Preceding  1847, 
as  member  of  the  territorial  council,  he  proposed  the  steps  nec- 
essary to  admission  as  a  state;  and  as  one  of  three  commission- 
ers shared  the  labor  of  revising  and  adapting  the  teiTitorial 
laws  to  the  state  constitution.  He  fi-amed  the  school  laws  of 
this  state,  which,  by  subsequent  modification,  constitute  the 
school  code  of  to-day.  Previous  training  and  experience  as 
teacher  and  school  officer  in  his  native  state  prepared  him  for 
this  impoi-tant  work;  but  his  sterling  good  sense  and  noble  pur- 
poses enlisted  the  confidence  of  those  who  entrusted  to  him 
these  important  duties. 

Besides  being  a  member  of  the  territorial  and  state  legisla- 
tures. Colonel  Frank  has  been  regent  of  the  state  univei-sity, 
justice  of  the  peace,  county  treasurer,  postmaster  and  city 
school  superintendent. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1826,  he  delivered  the  oration  com- 
memorating the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  our  national  independ- 
ence at  Virgil,  X.  Y.,  his  native  town,  and  on  the  4th  of  July, 
1876,  at  the  celebration  of  the  centennial  anniversary  at  the 
same  place  in  the  same  town,  he  was  the  "orator  of  the  day." 
He  is  now  spending  the  evening  of  his  long  and  usefiil  life  with 
the  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1837,  Miss  Cornelia  J. 
Carpenter,  of  the  town  of  Preble,  X.  Y.  They  reside  at  Keno- 
sha, their  home  for  more  than  fifty  years,  among  fi-iends  who 
love  them,  and  who  regard  their  presence  as  a  benediction  rest- 
ing upon  the  community. 

W.  E.  A. 


Preface. 


In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  the  purpose  has  been 
to  represent  the  principal  forms  and  agencies  of  education 
at  present  operative  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  One  difficulty 
of  such  an  enterprise  lies  in  the  definition  of  education, 
which  might  readily  be  made  to  cover  the  principal  activities 
of  civilized  life.  For  the  purposes  in  hand,  however,  the 
term  must  be  taken  to  mean  the  schools  and  the  agencies 
most  nearly  cognate  to  them.  Thus  we  exclude  the  history 
of  the  press  of  the  state,  while  admitting  that  portion  of 
it  especially  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  schools.  More- 
over, the  volume  does  not  seek  to  be  exhaustive,  and  to  each 
division  of  it  many  additions  might  readily  be  made.  The 
plan  of  contributions  by  a  large  number  of  persons  involves 
repetitions,  some  of  which  cannot  very  well  be  removed. 
The  arrangement  is  necessarily  somewhat  arbitrary.  Several 
papers  might  appear  under  two  or  three  of  the  divisions. 
For  example,  Lutheran  and  Catholic  schools  might  be,  for 
the  most  part,  distributed  among  the  other  divisions  of  the 
volume,  but  it  has  been  judged  more  useful  and  satisfactory 
to  exhibit  them  by  themselves,  as  well  organized  and  toler- 
ably complete  sj^stems.  Even  with  this  plan  inconsistencies 
occur.  Not  only  were  many  of  the  earlier  schools,  an 
account  of  which  is  given  in  several  of  the  papers,  either 
Catholic  or  Lutheran,  but  in  one  case  at  least,  that  of  Green 
Bay,  it  has  seemed  best  to  leave  undisturbed  the  treatment 
of  these  in  connection  with  the  educational  histor}-  of  the 
city.  In  fact,  the  arrangement  of  topics,  which  interlock  in 
so  many  ways,  must  seek  to  be  suggestive  and  convenient 
rather  than  logical. 

The  general  historical  sketch  of  the  educational  history 
of  the  state  has  been  prepared,  under  my  direction,  by  Miss 
E.  Helen  Blair,  a  student  in  the  school  of  economics  and 
history  at  the  state  university,  to  whose  industrious  investi- 
gations must  be  attributed  whatever  value  it  may  possess. 
It  is  believed  that  it  will  be  found  especially  satisfactory  in 
its  treatment  of  the  history  of  the  educational  funds  of  the 
state. 


VII 


A  Few  Guiding  Dates. 

1634.  The  countrv  explored  by  Jean  Nicolet  from  Lake 
Michigan  up  the  Fox  river. 

1660.  Father  Alloiiez  estabhshed  a  mission  on  Green  bay, 
locating  at  DePere,  1671. 

1700.  LeSueur  discovers  lead  mines  in  southwestern  Wis- 
consin. 

1718-21.    Fort  St.  Francis  erected  at  Green  Bay. 

1760.  Fall  of  New  France,  leaving  Wisconsin  a  possession 
of  England. 

1766.   White  traders  settle  permanently  at  Green  Bay. 

1791.   James  Porlier  taught  at  Green  Bay. 

1809.  Illinois  territory,  including  the  present  state  of  Wis- 
consin, organized. 

1815.   United  States  trading  post  established  at  Green  Bay. 

1817.  First  regular  school  at  Fort  Howard,  for  children  of 

the  garrison. 

1818.  AVisconsin  attached  to  Michigan  territory. 

1824.    First   term   of  United   States   circuit   court  held  at 

Green  Bay. 
1827.    Rush  of  settlers  to  the  lead  region. 
1829.   First  .school  of  children  of  white  settlers  at  Mineral 

Point. 
1832.    Black  Hawk  Avar. 

1836.  Territory    of    Wisconsin    organized.       First    school 

opened  at  Milwaukee. 

1837.  The  legislature  establishes  the  university  of  the  ter- 

ritory of  Wisconsin. 

1846.  First  city  school  in  Milwaukee.    Charter  of  Beloit  col- 

lege granted. 

1847.  Charter  of  Lawrence  university  granted. 

1848.  Wiscon.sin  admitted  as  a  state. 

1849.  Ground  broken  for  the  first  railroad  in   AVisconsin. 

First  building  of  Ripon  college  begun. 

1850.  Preparatory  school  of   the  University  of  Wisconsin 

opened. 
1853.   AVisconsin  teachers'  association  organized. 

1856.  The  Ba.shford-Barstow  trouble. 

1857.  First  railroad  to  the  Mississippi  at  Prairie  du  Chien 

opened. 
1859.   Teachers'  institutes  established  by  law. 
1861.    First  county  superintendents  elected.     Fort  Sumter 

bombarded. 
1866.    First  normal  school  opened  at  Platteville. 
1875.    First  free  high  school  law. 

vni 


Introduction. 


An  introduction  to  this  volume  would  be  unnecessary 
had  not  an  accident  prevented  the  insertion  of  these  para- 
graphs at  the  close  of  the  general  sketch  of  the  history  of 
education  in  AVisconsin,  where  they  properly  belong.  In 
order  to  make  that  sketch  as  complete  as  possible  they  are 
added  here : 

XVI. COMPULSORY    EDUCATION. 

The  attendance  on  the  public  schools  of  the  state  has 
never  been  wholly  satisfactory.  In  1849  it  was  only  46  per 
cent.,  the  highest  in  any  county  being  75  per  cent.,  of  the  total 
school  population.  The  next  year  reports  indicated  an 
attendance  of  67  per  cent. ;  but  at  that  time  reports  were 
very  defective  and  of  little  actual  value.  The  attendance  in 
1860  remained  the  same.  There  was  considerable  discussion 
among  educators,  from  year  to  j'ear,  as  to  the  desirability  of 
a  law  for  compulsor}-^  educcition ;  and  this  was  recom- 
mended to  the  legislature  by  a  committee  of  the  state  teach- 
ers' association  in  1865,  and  again  in  1867. 

The  first  step  taken  by  the  legislature  was  in  1873,  when 
a  resolution  of  the  assembly  directed  the  state  superinten- 
dent to  investigate  the  subject  of  compulsory  education, 
reporting  thereon  to  the  legislature.  His  report  shows  that 
the  number  of  illiterates  in  Wisconsin,  ten  years  old  and 
over,  in  1870,  was  55,441,  of  whom  41,328  were  of  foreign 
birth.  Of  these,  14,538  were  between  the  ages  of  ten  and 
twenty-one ;  and  only  65  per  cent,  of  the  school  population  were 
enrolled  in  the  public  schools.  After  making  all  allowances 
for  the  attendance  on  private  schools,  etc.,  the  report  shows 
that  between  40,000  and  50,000.  children  in  the  state  were 
not  attending  any  school  whatever,  in  1873.* 

This  report  elicited  much  interest  and  discussion,  differ- 
ences of  opinion  prevailing  as  to  the  desirability  of  a  com- 
ulsory  law.  The  immediate  result  was  an  enactmentf 
y  the  legislature,  authorizing  cities  to  establish  truant 
schools  for  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  sixteen^ 

*8upt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1873,  p.  *'). 
tLaws,  187:5,  (Jh.  270. 


Z  INTRODUCTION. 

who  might  be  committed  thereto  by  courts  or  justices.  As 
might  be  expected,  this  was  inoperative  and  practically  use- 
less. From  year  to  year  the  need  of  better  legislation  in 
this  direction  became  more  apparent.  In  1879  almost  34 
per  cent,  of  the  school  population  were  not  enrolled  in  schools 
of  any  kind  and  the  school  attendance  was  even  less  than  in 
the  preceding  year.* 

A  compulsory  law  was  finally  passed  in  1879.t  It  was 
entitled  "  an  act  to  secure  to  children  the  benefit  of  an  ele- 
mentary education,"  and  provided  that  all  children  between 
the  ages  of  seven  and  fifteen  should  be  sent  to  some  school, 
either  public  or  private,  for  at  least  twelve  weeks  in  each 
school  year.  Fines  were  imposed  on  parents  or  guardians 
neglecting  to  send  such  children,  except  in  cases  where  the 
child  might  be  mentally  or  physically  unfit  for  school,  or 
where  its  labor  was  necessary  for  the  support  of  indigent 
parents.  This  law  is  of  especial  interest  because  it  originated, 
not  with  teachers  and  school  officers,  but  with  business  men 
and  some  of  the  leading  politicians  in  the  state.  During  the 
first  year  of  its  operation,  the  school  attendance  was  increased 
by  nearly  10,000,  of  whom  8,000  attended  the  public  schools.! 
The  effect  of  the  law  was  to  increase  the  attendance  of  chil- 
dren between  seven  and  fifteen,  though  the  percentage  of  such 
attendance  has  slightly  decreased  each  year  ;  but  the  attend- 
ance for  the  whole  number  of  school  age,  especially  in  the 
cities,  has  become  noticeably  smaller.  In  1888  this  percent- 
age had  decreased  to  58.7.  One  reason  for  this  is  the  smaller 
school  attendance  of  very  young  children,  many  parents 
preferring  to  keep  their  children  at  home  until  they  are  six 
years  of  age.  Another,  and  a  principal  cause  in  cities,  is  the 
early  age^t  which  children  must  often  go  to  work.  It  was 
estimated  that  in  Milwaukee  fully  80  per  cent,  of  the  chil- 
dren leave  school  by  the  age  of  thirteen. §  The  predomi- 
nance of  a  foreign-born  element  in  the  population  of  Wis- 
consin, as  compared  with  most  other  states,  is  another  matter 
to  be  considered — partly  as  •  accounting  for  many  of  the 
illiterates,  partly  as  leading  to  the  support  of  more  private 
schools.  But,  after  making  all  allowances  for  the  number 
attending  private  schools,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  benefits 
of  the  public  schools  should  reach  many  more  than  they  do, 

*Siipt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1879,  p.  55. 

tLaws,  1879,  Ch.  121. 

JSnpt.  Pub.  Instr..  1879,  p.  237;  1880,  p.  36. 

IRep.  Mil.  8ch.  Bd.,  1882,  p.  24. 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

and  that  thousands  of  children  are  unjustly  deprived  of  even 
an  elementary  education. 

Such  considerations  as  these  led  to  the  passage,  in  1889, 
of  a  compulsory  education  law,*  intended  as  a  substitute 
for  the  act  of  1879,  and  popularly  known  as  the  "  Ben- 
nett law."  Its  provisions  were  more  stringent  than  those  of 
the  former  act,  and  required  attendance  at  school,  for  not  less 
than  twelve  or  more  than  twenty-four  weeks  in  the  year,  of 
every  child  between  seven  and  fourteen,  under  penalty  of 
fine  for  every  neglect  of  such  duty  by  parent  and  guardian. 
Jurisdiction  to  enforce  these  penalties  was  conferred  on  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  and  police  magistrates,  and  habitually 
truant  pupils  were  to  be  committed  as  dependent  children. 
No  child  under  thirteen  was  to  be  employed  or  allowed  to 
work  in  any  shop,  factory,  mine,  or  place  of  business.  No 
school  should  be  regarded  as  a  school  under  this  act  unless 
there  should  be  taught  therein  reading,  writing,  arithmetic, 
and  United  States  history,  in  the  English  language. 

This  law,  on  account  of  various  political  complications, 
and  opposition  on  the  part  of  those  interested  in  private 
schools,  was  repealed  in  1891,  and  an  act  passed  in  its  place 
which  made  parents  and  guardians  responsible  for  the 
schooling  of  children  under  their  care,  between  the  ages  of 
seven  and  thirteen,  for  twelve  weeks  in  each  year,  unless  in 
some  other  way  the  child  should  receive  the  equivalent  of 
such  instruction.  School  officers  are  required  to  enforce  the 
law,  and  truant  children  are  obliged  to  attend  school.  The 
difficulties  of  enforcing  compulsory  laws  are  very  great,  and 
have  been  felt  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.  The  need  of  them 
in  Wisconsin  is,  fortunately,  by  no  means  so  urgent  as  our 
school  statistics  may  seem  to  indicate,  since  the  extreme 
range  of  school  age,  from  four  to  twenty,  justifies  a  much 
lower  percentage  of  attendance  than  would  be  tolerable  if 
the  range  were  from  six  to  fifteen  years  of  age. 

XVII. TEXT    BOOK    LEGISLATION. 

One  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  fullest  success  of 
our  common  schools  has  arisen  from  the  diversity  of  text 
books.  This  was,  of  course,  most  noticeable  in  the  early 
years,  when  schools  were  scattered  and  isolated,  and  the  books 
brought  by  children  of  immigrant  families  from  a  score  of 
other  states  were  the  onlv  ones   available.     In  the  state  su- 


*  Laws,  1889,  Ch.  519. 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

perintendent's  report  for  1854  one  may  note  the  reports  from 
towns  in  all  parts  of  the  state,  showing  the  variety  of  text 
books  in  the  school.  "The  books  most  used  comprise  a  list  of 
fifteen  different  spelling  books,  eighteen  readers,  ten  geogra- 
phies, fifteen  arithmetics  and  twenty  grammars;  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  if  all  the  school  books  in  use  were  known,  they 
would  comprise  a  list  nearly  as  extensive  as  that  reported  in 
Connecticut  a  few  years  ago,  which  in  the  five  studies  named 
included  the  works  of  191  different  authors." 

Similar  complaints  were  made  year  after  year,  by  teach- 
ers and  superintendents,  of  the  unnecessary  multiplication 
of  classes  and  consequent  loss  of  time  to  the  teacher;  and,  by  the 
parents,  of  the  high  price  and  frequent  changes  of  books. 
Occasionally,  towns  or  districts  purchased  all  the  books  needed 
for  their  schools,  thus  securing  a  considerable  discount,  and 
cheapening  the  cost  to  the  parents,  but  no  concerted  or  general 
action  was  taken  to  secure  either  lower  prices  or  uniform 
series  of  books  in  different  towns.  The  evident  necessity  for 
such  action,  and  the  success  of  such  legislation  in  other 
states,  gradually  led  to  the  consideration  of  the  question 
of  free  text  books.  A  city  superintendent  made  a  study 
of  this  latter  subject,  and  ascertained  that  "on  the  plan  of 
pupil  ownership  of  text  books  in  a  Wisconsin  city  with  a 
school  membership  of  several  hundred  pupils,  the  average 
cost  per  capita  per  annum  in  all  grades — primary  to  high 
school  inclusive — is  $2.30.  The  same  cost  in  Lewiston, 
Maine,  with  a  school  membership  of  3,064  pupils,  on  a  plan 
of  government  ownership  of  text  books,  is  fifty-eight  cents."  * 
An  exhaustive  report  of  the  state  superintendent  on  this  sub- 
ject, in  1874,  resulted  in  the  passage  of  a  bill  in  the  following 
year,  which  authorized  districts,  towns,  villages  or  cities  to 
purchase  text  books  for  the  use  of  the  public  schools,  retain- 
ing the  ownership  of  the  books,  and  loaning  or  other- 
wise furnishing  them  to  the  pupils. f  In  1876  the  reports 
showed  that  267  districts  had  purchased  books  under 
this  act;  137  districts  loaned  the  books,  and  130  sold 
them  to  the  pupils.  These  numbers  have  steadily  increased 
from  year  to  year  until,  in  1892,  there  are  3,525  districts 
which  have  adopted  a  list  of  text  books :  2,258  purchase 
books;  1,048  loan  them,  and  1,250  sell  them  to  pupils.  Sev- 
eral of  the  cities  do  likewise.  The  system  has  thus  far  met 
with  favor,  and  is   gradually   becoming  more  prevalent.     It 

*  Supt.  Pub.  Instr.  1874,  pp.  xxtii-liii. 
\  Laws,  1875,  Cb.  :515. 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

saves  money  and   time,  increases   attendance,   and  exerts  a 
beneficial  influence  on  the  character  of  pupils.* 

A  text-book  commission  was  appointed  by  tlie  legisla- 
ture of  1878,  to  investigate  the  subject  of  uniformity  in  text 
books.  They  submitted  at  the  next  session  an  elaborate 
report,  fully  discussing  the  subject,  and  giving  the  results  of 
the  legislation  therein  on  other  states.  They  also  recom- 
mended a  law  which  should  encourage  uniformity  in  text 
books  throughout  the  state  and  secure  cheaper  prices  from 
publishers  ;  and  reported  in  favor  of  reform  in  English  or- 
thography, suggesting  that  such  reform  be  adopted  by  the 
state  in  its  schools  whenever  it  should  be  embodied  in  a  prac- 
tical system,  likely  to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  other  states. 
The  report  seems  to  have  been  pigeon-holed  in  legislative 
halls  for  several  years,  but  it  has  had  an  indirect  influence 
on  subsequent  legislation.  The  revised  statutes  of  1878  re- 
quired district  boards  to  determine  what  books  should  be 
used  in  their  schools;  but  the  authority  of  a  board  to  pur- 
chase books  depends  on  the  votes  of  electors  at  the  annual 
district  meeting,  A  law  of  1887,  modifying  the  statute  of 
1875,  provides  that  at  every  such  annual  meeting  the  ques- 
tion of  furnishing  free  text  books,  and  of  levying  a  tax  to 
pay  for  them,  shall  be  submitted  to  the  voters.  Text  books 
once  adopted  cannot  be  changed  for  three  years  (except  in 
districts  furnishing  free  text  books  to  all  the  pupils);  and 
this  provision  applies  also  to  boards  of  education  in  cities. 

XVIII. — SCHOOLS   FOR   DEPENDENT  CLASSES, 

The  first  school  established  by  the  state  for  the  benefit  of 
the  unfortunate  was  the  institute  for  the  blind,  at  Janesville, 
a  school  opened  in  1849,  by  citizens  of  that  place,  but  adopted, 
and  thenceforth  supported  by  the  siate,  February  9,  1850.  It 
aims  to  give  a  common  school  and  industrial  training  to 
blind  children,  and  has  enabled  many  of  these  unfortunates 
to  become  self-supporting. 

The  school  for  deaf  mutes  has  a  similar  origin  and 
record.  The  private  school  at  Delavan  was  made  a  state 
institute  in  1852. 

Public  schools  for  deaf-mutes  were  also  opened  (in  ac- 
cordance with  chapter  315,  laws  of  1885)  at  Milwaukee,  La 
Crosse  and  Oshkosh.  The  last  two  were  opened  in  1888  and 
1890  respectively,  each  with  six  pupils.     The  Oshkosh  school 

*  Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892. 


INTRODUCTION. 

seems  to  have  been  discontinued,  but  one  has  been  opened  at 
Wausau.  The  present  attendance  is  as  follows :  Milwaukee, 
42  pupils;  Wausau,  5,  and  La  Crosse  8.  Another  school 
will  probably  be  opened  soon  at  Manitowoc. 

In  1857  was  established  the  industrial  school  for  delin- 
quent and  incorrigible  boys,  at  Waukesha,  its  first  building 
being  opened  in  1860.  It  was  at  first  operated  on  the  con- 
gregate system ;  but  later  the  boys  were  divided  into  small 
families,  living  in  cottages — a  plan  much  more  satisfactory 
in  its  results.  Many  of  these  boys  have  become  good  and 
respected  citizens,  and  have  been  well  equipped  for  the  duties 
of  life  by  the  industrial  training  received  in  this  school. 

The  AVisconsin  industrial  school  for  girls  was  organized 
in  April,  1875,  the  legislature  appropriating  $15,000  for  its 
main  building ;  while  the  city  of  Milwaukee  gave  it  eight 
acres  of  land,  valued  at  $20,000.  This  school,  unlike  other 
similar  institutions,  is  not  managed  bj'  the  state,  but  by  a 
board  of  women  who  are  incorporated  as  a  society.  It  places 
out  such  of  the  girls  as  can  be  trusted  to  leave  its  care,  usually 
in  country  homes ;  and  incorrigible  girls  are  kept  till  they 
are  of  age,  and  instructed  in  domestic  occupations  by  which 
they  may  earn  a  living  when  dismissed  from  the  school. 

At  both  these  industrial  schools  were  many  children, 
committed  for  no  fault,  but  simply  because  they  had  no 
homes  or  guardians.  For  a  long  time  it  was  felt  that  these 
children  should  not  be  placed  in  the  same  category  with  the 
wayward  and  incorrigible ;  and  to  meet  their  needs  the  state 
public  school  for  neglected  and  dependent  children  was 
opened  at  Sparta,  November  13,  1886.  From  that  date  to 
September  30,  1888,  the  school  received  301  pupils — 184  boys 
and  117  girls — between  the  ages  of  three  and  fourteen.  These 
children  are  instructed,  while  in  the  school,  according  to  the 
course  and  methods  of  the  graded  schools  in  the  state  ;  but 
they  are  placed  in  families  as  soon  as  good  homes  can  be 
found  for  them.  A  kindergarten  was  organized  here  in 
1888. 

At  the  close  of  the  civil  war,  it  became  necessary  to  pro- 
vide for  many  penniless  orphans  of  Wisconsin  soldiers.  The 
women  of  Madison  collected  $12,000  and  secured  from  the 
secretary  of  war  the  use  of  the  government  buildings  near 
Third  Lake ;  and  in  January,  1866,  the  Soldiers'  Orphans' 
Home  was  opened.  In  the  following  March  it  became  a  state 
institution,  the  legislature  appropriating  $10,000  for  the  pur- 
chase  of  the   building   from  the   federal   government.     A 


INTRODUCTION.  7 

school  house  costing  $12,000  was  erected  in  1868.  The  home 
was  closed  in  1875,  and  the  property  transferred  to  the  uni- 
versity regents,  who  sold  it  in  the  following  year.  During 
the  thirteen  years  of  its  existence,  it  sheltered  683  children, 
the  largest  number  at  any  one  time  being  266.  Its  classes 
were  graded  like  those  of  a  public  school ;  and  twenty  of  the 
pupils,  who  wished  to  become  teachers,  were  sent  to  the  state 
normal  schools  for  the  full  course  of  study,  besides  their  in- 
struction at  the  home.  The  appropriations  made  by  the  leg- 
islature for  its  support  aggregated  $342,300.  Certain  bequests 
received  by  the  trustees,  in  1871  and  1872,  were  invested  in 
behalf  of  the  orphans,  each  of  whom  received  from  this  fund 
$55  on  coming  of  age.* 

XIX. — ACADEMIES  AND  PRIVATE   SCHOOLS. 

Of  the  numerous  academies,  seminaries  and  colleges 
chartered  in  the  pioneer  days  of  Wisconsin  but  few  have 
survived  to  the  present  time,  though  in  many  cases  they 
served  as  foundations  on  which  other  educational  enterprises 
have  since  arisen.  The  academic  system  of  New  England 
w^as  transplanted  to  Western  soil  by  our  early  settlers,  and 
for  a  time  appeared  to  flourish.  But  certain  unfavorable  in- 
fluences, both  within  and  without,  gradually  caused  its  par- 
tial decay.  The  strongest  of  these  was  doubtless  the  attitude 
of  the  state  toward  education.  The  congressional  grants  of 
lands  to  the  states  of  the  Northwest  territory  made  this  atti- 
tude one  of  protection  and  encouragement,  but  at  the  same 
time  one  of  authority  and  control.  It  is  true,  nearly  a  gen- 
eration passed  before  this  fact  was  thoroughly  recognized  by 
the  people.  Still,  by  1865,  they  had  become  accustomed  to 
the  idea  of  state  direction  of  education,  and  the  subsequent 
growth  of  the  university,  and  of  the  high  schools  in  the 
cities  and  villages,  fully  reconciled  them  to  the  plan  and  en- 
listed for  it  their  sympathies. 

Another  reason  for  the  ill-success  of  academies  and 
seminaries  was  the  fact  that  many  of  them  were  denomina- 
tional in  their  management.  Each  denomination  wished  to 
support  its  own  institution  ;  and  so  there  was  a  multiplicity 
of  feeble  schools,  as  of  churches,  because  the  energies  of  re- 
ligious organizations  were  scattered  instead  of  being  concen- 
trated on  a  few  strong  institutions.  This  same  religious  ten- 
dency— largely  Protestant — prevented  the  academic  institu  - 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.  1872,  p.  2f>3  ;  1879,  pp.  46,  279. 


O  INTRODUCTION. 

tions  from  receiving  the  support  of  the  foreigners  who  so 
rapidly  increased  the  population  in  later  years.  These 
schools  were  also  seldom  endowed,  and  the  early  poverty  of 
the  people  made  their  support  at  first  meagre. 

But  these  institutions,  often  the  result  of  heroic  struggles 
to  secure  a  higher  education,  were  of  great  benefit  to  the 
people,  supplying  the  opportunity  for  a  better  education  than 
the  public  schools  then  afforded.  They  helped  to  keep  alive 
the  moral  and  intellectual  life  of  the  people ;  and  the  self- 
sacrifice  and  devotion  of  their  teachers — cultivated,  refined, 
scholarly  men  and  women,  often  overworked  and  underpaid 
— exerted  a  strong  influence  in  shaping  the  characters  of 
their  students. 

Reports  from  these  institutions  have  been  made  to  the 
state  superintendent  since  1865;  but  in  many  cases  the 
reports  have  not  been  full  or  complete,  and  it  is  difficult  to 
give  any  satisfactory  account  of  their  condition  as  a  whole. 
In  1879  the  superintendent  reported  that  there  were  twenty- 
five  incorporated  academic  institutions  in  the  state,  and  that 
they  were  yearly  surrendering  to  the  influence  and  work  of 
the  public  high  schools.  The  same  official,  in  1880,  estimated 
that  the  whole  amount  expended  that  year  for  the  support 
of  collegiate  institutions,  outside  the  state  university,  was 
$120,263.02,  and,  for  other  private  institutions,  over  $130,000. 
Reports  made  to  his  office  showed  351  private  schools  not  in- 
corporated, with  411  teachers  and  9,659  scholars,  and  in- 
comes amounting  to  $43,109.34. 

The  state  superintendent  reports,  for  1892,  sixteen  col- 
leges, academies  and  seminaries,  with  755  preparatory  stu- 
dents, 875  in  regular  classes,  and  541  special  students;  144 
graduates  in  that  year,  and  1,856  graduates  since  organiza- 
tion; and  over  75,000  volumes  in  their  libraries. 

The  leading  academic  institutions  are  as  follows :  Car- 
roll college,  Waukesha,  Presbyterian,  organized  in  1846; 
Wayland  academy,  Beaver  Dam,  Baptist,  1845 ;  St.  Francis 
seminary,  St.  Francis  (near  Milwaukee),  Roman  Catholic, 
1856;  German  and  English  academy,  Milwaukee,  1850; 
Milwaukee  academy,  Milwaukee,  1864;  Milwaukee  college 
for  women,  Milwaukee,  1848;  Nashotah  house,  Nashotah, 
Episcopalian,  1847;  St.  Clara's  academv,  Sin.sinawa  Mound, 
Catholic,  1847. 

Full  and  accurate  reports  of  unincorporated  private 
schools  are  not  available ;  but  it  is  estimated  that  their  en- 
rollment, including  the  parochial  schools,  numbers  nearly 
70,000  pupils. 


General  Sketch  of  Educational  History. 


I. HISTORY    AND    SETTLEMENT    OF    \\ISCONSIN. 

From  the  long  and  bitter  struggle  of  the  revolutionary 
war  arose  a  new  nation,  and  the  thirteen  colonies  became  the 
United  States  of  America.  To  the  original  limits  of  the 
states  were  added,  at  various  times,  enormous  tracts  of 
land,  notable  among  w'hich  was  the  vast  Northwest  territory, 
extending  northward  from  the  Ohio  river  to  the  Great  Lakes, 
and  westward  to  the  Mississippi.  Originally  explored  by 
Nicolet  and  other  adventurous  Frenchmen,*  this  great  region 
early  came  into  the  nominal  possession  of  France  ;  but  she 
was  compelled  in  1763  to  relinquish  it  to  her  more  powerful 
rival,  England.  The  tenure  of  British  authority  there  was, 
however,  a  short  one,  lasting  only  twenty  years  ;  and  with 
the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1783,  the  sway  of  England  south  of 
the  Great  Lakes  came  to  an  end. 

The  war  of  independence  gave  the  newly-formed  states 
an  opportunity  to  extend  tlicir  borders  by  aggressions  on  the 
provinces  hitherto  held  by  Great  Britain  ;  and  the  lands  of 
the  Northwest  territory  were  claimed  by  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut  and  Virginia.  These  claims,  however,  were 
gradually  withdrawn  in  favor  of  the  Federal  government,, 
and  in  1784  an  act  of  Congress  made  temporary  provision 
for  the  government  of  the  territory.  Not  until  three  years 
later  was  it  duly  organized,  and  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  established  over  its  inhabitants. 

The  ordinance  of  1787,  "the  Magna  Charta  of  the  states 
of  the  great  Northwest,"  made  two  magnificent  promises  to 
the  new  territory,  which  have  been  nobly  kept.  One  was  a 
perpetual  guarantee  of  human  freedom ;  the  other  declared 
that  "schools  and  the  means  of  education  should  forever  be 
encouraged."  Both  were  safeguards  for  the  future ;  but  the 
latter  demanded  immediate  action  and  material  support. 
For  its  fulfillment  Congress  made  generous  provision.      * 

^Thwaites'  Story  of  Wisconsin,  pp.  19-35. 

9 


10  GENERAL    SKET("II    OF    EDUCATIONAL    ILISTOKY. 

The  land  ordinance  of  1785,  which  provided  for  a 
l)roper  survey  and  disposal  of  the  great  Northwest  territory, 
declared  that  "  there  shall  he  reserved  the  lot  No.  16  of  every 
township  for  the  maintenance  of  public  schools  within  the 
said  township."  This  reservation  was  reaffirmed  in  the 
"  powers  to  the  board  of  treasury,"  authorizing  the  sale  of 
Ohio  lands  in  connection  with  the  ordinance  of  1787.* 

The  idea  originally  entertained  by  Congress,  in  making 
the  grant  of  the  sixteenth  sections,  was  to  give  each  town- 
ship the  exclusive  benefit  of  its  own  section.  Some  of  the 
states  had  acted  on  this  idea,  and  the  result  was  that  some 
townships  secured  a  much  larger  fund  than  others  from  the 
sale  of  the  lands,  while  in  many  cases  much  of  the  avails 
was  lost  or  squandered. f  In  Wisconsin,  during  its  territorial 
existence,  the  sixteenth  section  might  only  be  leased  by  the 
township  to  which  it  l)elonged,  and  the  income  used  for 
school  purposes ;  l)ut  when  admitted  to  the  Union,  the  state 
became  empowered  to  sell  or  otherwise  transfer  the  lands 
themselves. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  Northwest  territory  was  set  off 
in  1800,  under  the  name  of  Indiana  territory,  including 
what  is  now  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  Another  subdivision 
occurred  in  1809,  when  Wisconsin  was  transferred  to  Illinois 
territory.  In  1818,  Illinois  became  a  state,  and  Wisconsin 
was  assigned  to  ^lichigan  territory.  The  birth  of  Wisconsin 
as  a  political  unit  occurred  April  20,  183G,  when  Congress 
created  a  territory  under  that  name,  including  not  only  our 
present  state,  but  Iowa,  Minnesota  and  part  of  Dakota. 

That  portion  of  the  territory  Avhich  comprises  the 
present  state  consisted  of  four  counties — Brown,  Crawford, 
Iowa  and  Milwaukee.  According  to  the  census  taken  at 
this  time,  the  inhabitants  of  these  counties  numbered 
11,683.|  With  a  population  of  this  size,  it  will  readih^  be 
seen,  that,  scattered  and  often  isolated  though  the  people 
might  be,  there  must  have  already  arisen  the  need  of  in- 
struction for  their  cliildren,  and  various  efforts  must  have 
been  made  to  meet  that  need. 

For  the  earliest  endeavors  our  attention  naturally  re- 
verts to  the  French  explorers,  missionaries  and  traders  who 
first  opened  up  the  lake  region  and  the  Mississippi  valley. 
Their  first  permanent  settlement  in  AVisconsin  was  made  at 

*kinsdale'8  Old  Northwest,  p.  276. 
fSmith's  Education  in  Michifran,  1880,  j).  17. 
-tTuttle's  History  of  Wisconsin,  p.  191. 


GENERAL    SKETCH    OF    EDUCATKJXAL    HISTORY.  11 

Green  Bay,  in  1745 ;  but  missionar}^  stations  had  been  main- 
tained since  1670,  by  the  French  Jesuits,  at  La  Pointe,  De 
Pereand  Prairie  du  Chien.*  At  these  centers  some  instruc- 
tion was  given  to  the  Indians  and  their  cliildren,  but,  of 
course,  it  was  mainly  reUgious  ;  and  of  schools  proper  there 
seem  to  have  been  none  worthy  of  note  till  the  early  part 
of  this  century.  The  first  of  these  were  private  schools 
for  tlie  children  of  French  families,  many  of  which  had 
grown  wealthy  by  this  time  in  tlie  fur  trade.  Many  of  these 
Frencli  traders  sent  their  children  to  the  schools  of  Quebec, 
Montreal  and  Detroit,  and  to  Catholic  schools  in  Illinois. 

In  1816  military  posts,  occupied  by  Federal  troops,  were 
established  at  Fort  Howard  and  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  in 
1828  at  Fort  Winnebago,  near  the  Portage  City  of  to-day. 
At  these  places,  under  the  direction  of  the  commanders  of 
the  garrisons,  post  schools  were  formed,  for  the  children  of 
officers  and  of  the  settlers  who  lived  in  the  vicinity.  Special 
efforts  were  early  made  by  the  government  and  by  various 
religious  societies  to  educate  and  Christianize  the  Indian 
population.  Chief  among  these  was  the  school  started  in 
1823,  opposite  Green  Bay,  by  the  missionary  society  of  the 
Episcopal  church.  It  was  intended  for  white  and  half-breed 
children,  though  later  it  took  in  pupils  of  full  Indian  blood, 
and  was  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Eleazar  Williams,  later 
known  as  the  pretended  Dauphin  of  France.f  Before  its 
territorial  organization  Wisconsin  had  not,  excepting  the 
French  settlers  and  traders,  any  very  strongly  marked  element 
of  population.  But  the  Black  Hawk  war  directed  the  attention 
of  people  in  the  Eastern  States  to  the  vast  and  almost  unex- 
plored region  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Great  Lakes, 
and  a  great  tide  of  American  immigration  soon  set  in  thither- 
ward. This  was  greatly  accelerated  by  the  financial  crisis 
of  1837,  which  spread  panic  and  disaster  throughout  the 
Union.  Thousands  of  industrious,  intelligent  American  fami- 
lies came  to  Wisconsin  from  1834  to  1840,  to  repair  their 
broken  fortunes,  or  to  secure  a  better  start  in  life  than  was 
now  possible  at  the  East.  They  settled  along  the  shores  of 
Lake  Michigan,  along  Lake  Winnebago  and  the  Fox  river, 
and  on  the  fertile  prairies  of  the  Rock  river  valle^^  Then 
the}'  spread  down  the  shores  of  the  Wisconsin  and  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  rivers,  and  up  the  valleys  of  the  streams 
tributary  to  the  latter.     In  all  these  regions  were  then  laid 

*Th\vaites'  8torv  of  Wisconsin,  p.  48. 
fWhitford's  Education  in  AVisconsin,  p.  14. 


12  GENERAL    SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL.  HISTORY. 

the  fouiidatioiis  of  now  thriving  and  prosperous  cities  and 
villages  of  Wisconsin.  Other  nationalities  came  into  this 
"  promised  land"  soon  afterward,  and,  indeed,  in  later  years 
often  replaced  the  original  settlers  ;  but  the  early  character 
of  the  state  was  largely  shaped  by  these  American  pioneers. 

This  new  class  of  inhabitants  brought  with  them 
churches,  newspapers  and  schools,  and  other  tokens  of  that 
distinctively  American  civilization  which,  during  the  pre- 
ceding century,  had  subdued  the  New  England  wilderness 
and  surmounted  the  barrier  of  the  Alleghanies ;  which  had 
established  a  democratic  government  at  the  threshold  of  the 
New  World,  as  a  protest  against  monarchical  oppression  in 
the  Old ;  which  had  laid,  even  in  tears  and  blood,  the  foun- 
dation stones  of  a  great  nation ;  and  which  was  building 
thereon,  in  a  mighty  zeal  for  freedom  and  native  land,  a 
state  which  should  become  the  beacon  and  refuge  of  the 
oppressed  in  all  lands. 

Much  of  the  spirit  which  animated  those  founders  of 
the  Union  came  to  Wisconsin  with  the  American  pioneers ; 
and  along  with  human  liberty,  freedom  of  speech,  and 
unfettered  conscience,  they  guaranteed  free  education  for 
their  children.  It  is  mainly  to  their  intelligence  and  fore- 
sight that  Wisconsin  owes  her  present  high  rank  among  her 
sister  states,  and  her  unsurpassed  system  of  instruction  for 
the  people. 

It  is  difficult  for  us  to  realize  the  disadvantages  of  the 
pioneers  in  establishing  those  early  schools.  The  virgin 
soil  and  unbroken  forest  offered  grand  opportunities  for 
industrial  success,  but  only  at  the  price  of  hard  toil  and 
long,  patient  waiting.  Still  must  men  struggle  with  Nature 
and  subdue  her,  though  here  her  aspect  was  less  stern  than 
it  had  been  to  the  voyagers  of  the  Mayflower.  But,  with 
all  their  privations,  they  gave  what  they  could  from  scanty 
means  for  the  education  of  their  children ;  and,  wherever  a 
settlement  was  formed,  a  school  was  established.  In  hun- 
dreds of  localities  the  little  private  school,  gathered  from  the 
children  of  a  few  neighboring  families,  was  the  beginning 
of  the  public  school,  which  was  provided  in  placp  of  the 
former  as  soon  as  the  community  could  meet  the  expense.* 

II. — EDUCATION   IN   THE   TERRITORIAL   PERIOD. 

No  school  system,  or  general  legislation  for  that  end, 
was  possible  until  the  territorial  organization  of  Wisconsin 

*VVhitford,  p.  22. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  13 

was  effected,  in  1836.  Up  to  this  time  she  had,  as  a  part  of 
Michigan,  been  subject  to  tlie  laws  of  that  territory,  and  her 
schools  were  nominally  governed  by  the  Michigan  code. 
But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  only  one  public  school  had  yet  been 
organized  by  law  within  the  bounds  of  Wisconsin. "  It  was 
opened  in  the  autumn  of  1836,  in  Milwaukee,  in  that  part  of 
the  city  now  known  as  the  Second  ward.  As  the  first  legis- 
lature met  soon  afterward,  and  thus  assumed  responsibility 
for  the  schools  of  the  new  territory,  this  school  in  Milwaukee 
was  the  first  and  only  school  in  Wisconsin  organized  under 
the  Michigan  law  as  such.*  At  Kenosha,  Milwaukee  and 
Sheboygan  there  were  now  private  schools  in  successful  op- 
eration; but  as  yet  no  steps  had  been  taken  to  provide  for 
the  higher  education. 

The  act  of  Congress  creating  Wisconsin  territory  made 
no  provision  for  any  educational  matters.  The  first  legisla- 
ture met  at  Belmont,  Iowa  county,  October  25,  1836.  It  is 
curious  to  note  that  nothing  was  done  at  this  session  in  re- 
gard to  common  schools,  except  the  passage  of  a  bill  to  pro- 
hibit trespass  on  the  school  lands  b}^  cutting  and  destroying 
timber  thereon.  But  within  six  weeks  the  ambitious  law- 
makers proceeded  to  establish — on  paper — the  "Wisconsin 
University"  at  Belmont.  The  trustees  were  instructed  "to 
apply  such  part  of  their  estate  and  funds  in  such  manner  as 
they  may  think  most  conducive  to  the  promotion  of  litera- 
ture and  the  advancement  of  useful  knowledge  in  the  terri- 
tory." They  were  authorized  "to  establish  colleges,  acade- 
mies and  schools  dependent  on  the  university."  Mo  more 
was  done,  however,  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  than  to 
name  the  trustees. 

At  the  next  session,  the  common  school  question  was 
again  ignored,  presumably  because  the  Michigan  code  an- 
swered for  present  needs.  But  numerous  acts  were  passed, 
incorporating  academies  and  colleges  ;  and,  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment having  been  removed  to  Madison,  the  University 
of  Wisconsin  was  also  established  there,  under  a  new  act. 
This  was  the  first  definite  step  toward  the  higher  education 
in  W^isconsin,  although  twelve  years  elapsed  before  the  uni- 
versity had  an  actual  existence.  The  board  of  visitors, 
twenty-one  in  number,  were  duly  appointed  ;  but  their  powers 
were  merely  nominal,  and  they  could  accomplish  little  in  the 
then  undeveloped  and  sparsely  settled  territory.    But  the  ex- 


nVhitford,  p.  20. 


14       GENERAL  SKETCH  OF  EDUCATIONAL  HIST(3RY. 

istence  of  the  board  helped  to  keep  ahve  the  plans  and  efforts 
for  a  university,  and  to  prevent  the  dissipation  of  its  resources. 
Congress  was  asked  by  the  legislature  to  appropriate  $20,000 
for  buildings,  and  two  townships  of  land  for  endowment  of 
the  infant  university.  The  money  was  refused,  but  by  act 
of  June  12,  1838,  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  authorized 
to  reserve  from  the  public  domain  a  quantity  of  land,  not  to 
exceed  two  townships,  for  the  support  of  the  university.  The 
manner  in  which  this  endowment  was  used  will  be  more  fully 
described  hereafter. 

Among  the  higher  institutions  to  which  charters  were 
granted  at  this  second  session  was  the  Episcopal  mission 
school  at  Green  Bay,  before  mentioned.  For  a  time  it  had 
flourished,  and  it  owned  valuable  lands  and  buildings ;  but 
the  policy  of  the  Federal  government  in  colonizing  the 
Indians  was  gradually  removing  them  from  Green  Bay 
and  its  vicinity,  and  diminishing  the  number  of  pupils  in 
this  school.  The  missionary  society  decided  therefore  to 
open  the  school  to  the  public.  It  was  now  incorporated  as 
the  ''AVisconsin  University  of  Green  Bay,"  with  a  board  of 
twenty  trustees  ;  and  the  funds  and  property  of  the  original 
institution  were  to  be  appropriated  for  the  support  of  the 
new  one  "in  such  manner  as  shall  most  effectually  promote 
virtue,  piety,  and  learning."  This  institution  was  after- 
wards known  as  Hobart  university,  but  its  existence  was 
not  a  long  one.  Charters  were  also  granted  to  Beloit,  Racine, 
Mineral  Point,  Depere,  Cassville,  and  (ireen  county  semin- 
aries, and  to  Milwaukee  academy.  Besides  these,  there  were 
incorporated  seven  seminaries,  the  Philandrian  college,  and 
Davenport  Manual  l^sibor  college — all  in  what  is  now  the  state 
of  Iowa.  Some  of  these  institutions  were  explicitly  co-educa- 
tional ;  the  rest,  with  few  exceptions  at  least,  made  no  regula- 
tion as  to  the  sex  of  pupils.  A  curious  feature  of  many  of 
these  charters  is  the  restriction  of  the  income  of  the  insti- 
tutions, aside  from  tuition  bills,  to  a  sum  not  exceeding 
$1,000;  and,  in  one  or  two  cases,  $3,000.  It  is  also  very 
interesting  to  observe  that  several  of  them  explicitly 
guaranteed  entire  freedom  of  religious  opinion  to  professors 
and  students.*  Few  of  these  higher  schools  now  remain  : 
but  without  doubt  they  were  often  the  foundations  of  now 
flourishing  academies  and  colleges. 

At  the  session  of  1839,  a  revision  of  existing  statutes 


*^Laws  of  Wisconsin,  1837. 


<;i:ni:kai,  .skictch  ok  kducatioxaj.  histouy.  15 

was  made,  and  numerous  deficiencies  and  omissions  were 
corrected  by  the  passage  of  suitable  enactments.  Among 
them  was  one  in  regard  to  common  schools,  which,  though 
retaining  most  features  of  the  old  Michigan  law,  endeavored 
to  adapt  it  to  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  territory. 
Formerly  each  township  containing  not  less  than  twenty 
electors  was  obliged  to  support  at  least  one  school.  The 
management  of  the  schools  and  school  lands  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  three  school  commissioners,  elected  every  three 
years ;  and  each  district  must  elect  three  directors  annually, 
who  should  employ  teachers  and  levy  taxes  for  the  support 
of  schools.  Now,  the  family  was  made  the  basis  of  town 
organization  for  school  purposes,  every  town  containing  not 
less  than  ten  families  being  required  to  become  a  school 
district.  For  the  rate-bill  sy.stem  was  substituted  a  real 
estate  tax  of  one-fourth  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  whole  county,, 
to  provide  for  the  erection  of  school  houses  and  the  support 
of  schools.  The  town  commissioners  were  abolished,  and 
their  duties  given  to  inspectors.  The  school  fund  was 
apportioned  according  to  the  number  of  pupils,  and  to 
secure  its  share  of  the  fund  the  town  must  support  a  school 
during  at  least  three  months  in  the  year.  Each  district  was 
allowed  to  elect  trustees  in  place  of  inspectors.  A  teacher 
who  had  not  procured  a  certificate  was  liable  to  a  fine  ol* 
1150.00.* 

The  legislators  were  not  satisfied,  however,  with  this 
effort  to  organize  the  school  system  ;  for  in 'little  more  than 
a  year  they  so  amended  the  act  of  1839  as  to  restore  the 
office  of  town  commissioner,  assigning  thereto  the  duties  of 
the  inspectors.  This  amend mentf  regulated  the  formation 
of  school  districts ;  defined  the  duties  of  each  school  officer : 
provided  five  officers  for  each  district — clerk,  collector,  and 
three  trustees ;  and  restricted  votes  at  the  district  meetings 
to  male  residents  over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  must  be 
freeholders  or  householders.  The  fine  before  imposed  on  a 
teacher  who  had  no  certificate  was  changed  to  the  forfeiture 
of  a  sum  not  to  exceed  his  wages.  Districts  were  authorized 
to  raise  certain  limited  amounts  of  money  for  building 
school  hou.ses. 

The  commissioners  formed  a  court  of  appeal  for  griev- 
ances arising  from  the  action  of  districts.     They  reported 

*Revised  Statutes  of  Wisconsin,  ISIiO,  p.  i;{7. 

fAct  to  provide  for  government  of  towns  an«l  revision  of  county 
government,  1840-41. 


IG  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

oacli  year  to  the  secretary  of  the  territory  the  number  of 
school  districts  in  each  township,  the  number  of  teachers 
and  scholars,  tlie  length  of  school  terms,  and  the  amount  of 
taxes  raised  and  paid  out  for  school  purposes.  Penalties 
were  imposed  for  neglect  of  these  duties.  The  clerk 
made  yearly  a  list  of  heads  of  families  in  the  district,  and 
the  number  of  children  between  the  ages  of  four  and  six- 
teen in  each  family.  This  list  was  filed  with  the  town  com- 
missioners and  with  the  board  of  county  commissioners. 
The  county  moneys  appropriated  for  common  schools  were 
duly  apportioned  to  the  districts  by  the  county  com- 
missioners. 

Again,  in  1843,  considerable  changes  were  made  in  the 
-school  law.  An  act,*  amendatory  to  that  of  1841,  relative 
to  town  and  county  government,  provided  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  school  districts ;  for  building  and  furnishing  school 
houses,  to  the  limit  of  $200,  or  in  special  cases  $300,  for  each 
•district,  this  tax  to  be  voted  by  the  district  itself.  Each 
person  sending  children  to  school  must  furnish  his  share  of 
fuel.  Provision  was  made  for  collection  of  taxes  and  rate- 
Ijills  for  moneys  due  for  instruction.  School  suffrage  was 
restricted  to  male  inhabitants  over  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
who  had  resided  in  the  district  for  three  months  previous  to 
the  district  meeting,  and  had  paid  taxes  for  this  or  the  pre- 
i^eding  year.  The  percentage  of  tax  on  assessments  was  re- 
stricted to  one  and  one-half  pQr  cent.,  except  district  taxes  for 
building  school  houses. 

At  the  next  session  was  passed  an  actf  enabling  school 
districts  to  raise  a  tax  for  the  support  of  schools  in  case  of 
refusal  or  neglect  of  towns  to  do  so.  This  tax  was  limited 
to  one-fourth  of  one  per  cent.,  and  was  to  be  used  only  for 
the  pay  of  teachers. 

Jn  1845,  a  charter  was  granted;):  to  Janesville  academy, 
with  the  curious  proviso  that  ''  nothing  therein  was  to  be 
.so  construed  as  to  confer  banking  privileges  on  the  corpora- 
tion." The  "  Wisconsin  Phalanx  "  was  also  incorporated!, 
— a  Fourierite  community  at  Ceresco,  in  Fond  du  Lac 
county,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  present  city  of  Ripon.  The 
council  of  the  Phalanx  was  allowed  "  to  establish  a  public 
school  in  which  should  be  taught,  during  nine  months  of 


*LawB  of  WiBconsin,  1842-4:5,  ]).  48. 
tLaws,  1848-44,  p.  40. 
JLaws,  184o,  ]i.  70. 
^Laws,  1845,  j).  70. 


GKXEKAL   SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL    HISTOKY.  17 

the  year,  all  the  different  branches  of  science  usually  taught  in 
the  common  schools  of  the  territory,  and  which  should  be 
open  and  free  to  the  children  of  all  members  of  the  corporation." 

But  the  notable  educational  event  of  the  year  was  the 
establishment  at  Kenosha  (then  called  Southport)  of  the  first 
free  public  school  in  Wisconsin.  The  population  of  this 
village — then  promising  to  become  one  of  the  largest  cities 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan — was  largely  made  up  of 
people  from  New  England  and  the  Middle  States,  including 
many  educated  persons  from  eastern  cities.  The  social  and 
intellectual  tone  of  the  community  was,  therefore,  unusuallj'^ 
high,  and  no  better  field  could  have  been  selected  for  such 
an  educational  enterprise.  Col.  M.  Frank,  one  of  the  editors 
of  the  local  newspaper,  was  an  ardent  believer  in  a  system 
of  free  schools  sup})orted  by  state  taxation  ;  and  for  five  years 
he  strongly  influenced  public  opinion  through  his  journal 
and  various  personal  efforts.  Largely  through  this  work 
and  his  speeches  in  the  legislature,  was  it  possible  to  inaug- 
urate the  scheme  at  Southport.  In  1843  he  had  introduced 
a  bill  for  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  free  schools  in  Wis- 
consin, but  it  was  rejected,  and  the  idea  was  considered  im- 
practicable by  most  of  the  members. 

But  in  1845  the  legislature  conceded  to  district  No.  1,  of 
Southport,  the  privilege  of  making  an  experiment  in  this 
line,  by  authorizing*  the  voters  of  the  district  to  raise,  by 
taxation,  a  sum  of  money,  not  exceeding  $2,000  in  any  one 
year,  for  the  erection  of  a  school  house,  the  purchase  of  ap- 
paratus, the  payment  of  teachers,  and  incidental  expenses. 
The  act  provided  for  the  selection  of  three  superintendents, 
who  should  organize  and  inspect  the  schools,  employ  the 
teachers,  oversee  the  classification  of  schools  and  depart- 
ments, supervise  their  government,  etc.  The  tax  was  to  be 
levied  on  both  real  and  personal  property,  in  the  same 
manner  as  in  counties  which  had  adopted  the  .township  sys- 
tem of  government.  The  act  contained  a  proviso  that  its 
validity  should  depend  on  its  adoption  by  a  majority  of  the 
voters  in  the  district.  Some  of  these  opposed  it ;  but  it  was 
finally  adopted  in  the  autumn  of  1845,  and  at  once  put  in 
operation,  t 

The  experiment  was  thoroughly  successful,  and  the 
schools  of  Kenosha  soon  acquired  a  wide  reputation  for  their 
completeness  of  organization  and  thoroughness  of  instruc- 

*La\vs,  lS4o,  p.  xi 
tWhitford,  p.  29. 


18  GENKKAL    SKKTCII    OF    EDUCATION  A  J.    HISTORY. 

tion.  Tlieir  success,  doubtless,  had  much  to  do  with  the 
Hberal  provision  made  later  for  pubHc  schools  in  the  state 
constitution. 

In  1847,  school  district  No.  1,  in  the  town  of  Fond  du 
Lac,  was  incorporated  by  the  name  of  the  "  Franklin  School 
District."  The  act*  for  this  contained  a  proviso  that,  when- 
ever the  village  of  Fond  du  Lac  should  be  incorporated,  the 
office  of  treasurer  of  the  Franklin  school  district  should  be 
abolished,  and  its  duties,  with  the  collection  of  the  school 
taxes  of  the  district,  be  assigned  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
village.  The  district  and  the  village  were  incorporated 
within  two  days  of  each  other. 

'  We  have  noted  the  principal  steps  in  the  progress  and 
development  of  the  common-school  idea  during  the  territor- 
ial period.  The  great  extent  of  Wisconsin,  and  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  streams  of  immigration  poured  in,  overflow- 
ing its  prairies,  river  valleys  and  forests,  prevented  for 
several  years  the  formation  of  an  organized  school  system. 
In  the  successive  legislatures,  attempts  were  made  in  this 
direction ;  but  they  were,  of  necessity,  largely  experimental 
and  temporary.  So  many  changes  were  made  in  the  school 
laws  during  the  first  five  years  of  territorial  history  that 
great  confusion  existed  in  the  management  of  school  affairs, 
both  in  towns  and  districts ;  and  much  dissatisfaction  arose 
in  consequence. 

The  schools  were  poorly  organized  and  insufficiently 
supported,  and  must  often  have  been  closed  if  rate-bill  taxa- 
tion or  even  private  subscription  had  not  provided  the  neces- 
sary funds.  At  each  legislative  session  it  became  necessary 
to  pass  local  acts,  authorizing  districts  to  raise  special  taxes 
for  school  buildings.  It  was  impossible  to  secure  uniformity 
or  permanence  in  any  plans  of  improvement,  under  the 
r<^gime  of  commissioners  changed  every  year.  Town  and 
district  authorities  often  disagreed  ;  and  in  1840  the  legis- 
lature enacted  that  the  school  commissioners  of  the  several 
towns  should  not  hereafter  allow  any  appeal  from  the  deci- 
sion or  vote  of  any  district  school  meeting. 

These  deficiencies  were  plainly  recognized  by  all  who 
were  interested  in  educational  work  ;  but  it  was  felt  that 
little  could  be  done  in  that  transition  period  of  territorial 
development,  and  no  important  changes  in  the  laws  were 
permitted  until  a  state  law  should  be  adopted. f     The  mag- 

*Law8,  1847,  p.  153. 
tWhitford,  pp.  27-28. 


GENERAL   SKETCH    OF    EDLCATIOXAL    HISTORY.  10 

iiificeiit  donations  of  Congress  for  education  were  lying  com- 
paratively idle,  and  the  rapid  increase  of  population  was 
making  imperative  the  demand  that  these  lands  be  rendered 
available.  This  and  other  educational  questions  contributed 
mucli  to  emphasize  the  need  and  ha.sten  the  time  of  state 
organization. 

From  1843  the  matter  of  state  government  was  dis- 
cussed more  or  less  every  year,  both  in  the  legislature  and 
among  the  people  of  the  territory.  At  the  first  session  of  the 
Twenty-ninth  Congress  was  passed  the  "enabling  act,"  dated 
August  0,  1S46,  authorizing  the  people  of  Wiscon.sin  to  form 
a  constitution  and  state  government  for  the  purpose  of  l^eing 
admitted  to  the  Union.  In  accordance  with  this  act,  the 
([uestion  of  state  organization  was  submitted  to  the  votes  of 
the  people  in  April,  1846,  and  by  them  was  decided  in  the 
affirmative.  A  constitutional  convention  was  duly  called  and 
elected,  meeting  October  5,  1846,  by  which  a  draft  of  a  con- 
stitution was  framed,  to  be  submitted  to  the  votes  of  electors 
in  April,  1847.  At  this  convention  the  educational  interests 
of  the  state  were  thoroughly  discussed,  and  due  provision 
made  therefor  in  the  draft  for  a  constitution.  Congress  did 
not  wait  for  the  action  of  the  people  of  Wisconsin,  but  passed 
an  act  for  its  admission  to  the  Union  as  a  state.  When  the 
vote  was  taken  in  April,  the  proposed  constitution  was 
rejected  on  account  of  opposition  to  some  of  its  provisions — 
notably  those  forbidding  the  issue  of  currency  by  corpora- 
tions or  individuals,  securing  to  married  women  the  right  to 
their  separate  property,  and  exempting  homesteads  from 
forced  sale  for  debt.* 

A  special  session  of  the  legislature  passed  a  bill,  October 
27,  1847,  for  election  of  delegates  to  another  constitutional 
convention.  This  convention  met  December  lo,  and  drafted 
a  new  constitution,  which  was  adopted  by  the  electors  March 
13,  1848.  Their  action  was  ratified  by  Congress  in  the  act 
of  May  29, 1848,  and  Wisconsin  became  one  of  the  sovereign 
states  of  the  Union. 

III. EARLY    SCHOOLS    OF    THE    METROPOLIS. 

Till  1835  Milwaukee  was  but  a  trading  post,  having  at 
that  time  only  thirty  inhabitants.  Through  the  efforts  mainly 
of  Solomon  .Juneau  and  Byron  Kilbourn,  the  adjacent  region 
was  explored,  its  resources  made  known  in  other  states,  town 
lots  laid  out,  and  immigrants  invited  and  drawn  thither. 

*Stron<j:'s  Hist,  of  Wis.,  pp.  -wO-^^o^. 


20  GENERAL    SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL    HISTOIJY. 

The  scheme  of  uniting  the  waters  of  Lake  Micliigan  and 
the  ]\Iississippi,hy  a  canal  from  Milwaukee  to  the  Rock  river, 
originated  witli  Mr.  Kilbourn  ;  and  Congress,  influenced  by 
his  representations,  granted  to  the  Milwaukee  and  Rock  River 
Canal  Company  the  alternate  sections  five  miles  each  side  the 
canal.  This  enterprise,  though  finally  abandoned  when  par- 
tially completed,  owing  to  misunderstandings  and  difficulties 
between  the  canal  company  and  the  territorial  legislature, 
apparently  opened  up  grand  possibilities  for  the  industrial 
and  commercial  growth  of  "Wisconsin ;  and  this  and  other 
inducements  drew  to  the  little  village  of  Milwaukee  a  large 
and  enterprising  body  of  immigrants.* 

The  early  growth  of  Milwaukee  was  unparalleled  by 
that  of  any  other  town  or  city  in  the  United  States.  By 
January  1,  1842,  its  imports  for  the  previous  year  amounted 
to  §1,805,277,  and  its  exports  to  $286,777 — as  ascertained  by 
a  committee  of  tlie  corporation  of  Milwaukee.  In  the  same 
year  shipments  of  lead,  shot  and  copper  from  this  port 
amounted  to  1,786,175  pounds.  By  1843  the  population  of 
Milwaukee  had  increased  to  6,068  and  was  supporting  numer- 
ous thriving  industries.!  Appropriations  for  a  harbor  had 
alread}^  been  made  by  Congress ;  and  it  was  evident  that  Mil- 
waukee would  ere  long  become  an  important  commercial 
center.  When  the  city  was  incorporated,  in  1846,. its  popula- 
tion was  9,666 ;  and  three  years  later  it  numbered  18,000. 

AVith  all  this  material  progress  the  cause  of  education  did 
not  keep  pace  in  those  early  years.  This  was  partly  due  to 
the  necessities  and  scanty  means  of  a  pioneer  settlement  in  a 
new  country — partly  to  the  heterogeneous  character  of  the 
population  of  Milwaukee,  as  compared  with  that  of  the 
smaller  villages  and  farming  communities.  This  latter 
cause  is  apparent  in  the  figures  given  by  the  school  census 
of  1851,  which  shows  5,914  children  of  school  age ;  of  these 
Ijut  1,668  were  Americans,  while  2,577  were  Germans,  1,286 
Irish,  and  294  Engli.sh — the  remainder  Scotch,  French, 
AVelsh,  Danish,  and  Poles.^ 

The  public  school  established  in  1836,  before  alluded  to, 
was  the  only  one  in  Milwaukee  previous  to  1840.  No  tax 
levy  for  school  purposes  had  been  made,  and  but  a  small  in- 
come was  obtained  from  the  school  lands.  There  was  little 
difference  between  the  public  and  private  schools,  the  ex- 

*McLeod'H  Hist,  of  Wiskonsan,  1842-43. 

tl.  A.  Laphatn's  Atct.  of  Milwaukee  in  1843,  p.  114. 

:tHistorv  of  Milwaukee  (West.  Hist.  Co.,  1881),  p.  520. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  21 

penses  of  the  former  being  defrayed  by  the  subscriptions  of 
public-spirited  citizens.  But  in  1846  ^lihvaukee  was  granted 
a  city  cliarter,  and  a  board  of  scliool  commissioners  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Common  Council.  The  act  of  1S46  provided 
that  in  no  year  should  the  sums  expended  for  school  pur- 
poses exceed  the  amount  raised  and  appropriated  in  that 
year  for  the  support  and  benefit  of  common  schools.  The 
aggregate  amount  of  taxes  levied  for  school  purposes  was 
not  to  exceed  one-fourth  of  one  per  cent,  annually.  The  rate 
of  tuition  fees  was  not  to  exceed  $1.50  a  quarter  of  eleven 
weeks  for  each  scholar.  These  rates  were  to  be  collected  by 
the  city  authorities,  like  other  taxes.  To  be  entitled  to  a 
grant  from  the  city  school  moneys,  a  school  must  average  a 
daily  attendance  of  at  least  thirty  pupils,  and  the  English 
language  must  be  taught  as  a  branch  of  education. 

October  7,  1846,  over  thirteen  acres  in  the  present 
Sixth  ward  was  deeded  to  the  city  by  Increase  A.  Lapham, 
to  be  forever  used  for  the  purposes  of  a  high  school.  The 
Common  Council  accepted  the  gift  with  thanks,  appointed 
trustees,  and  indefinitely  postponed  further  action.  Later, 
the  land  reverted  to  the  donor.*  So  this  magnificent  gift  of 
a  generous  and  far-sighted  citizen  was  lost  to  the  community 
through  what  now  seems  to  have  been  unpardonable  stu- 
pidity and  negligence  on  the  part  of  the  city  government. 

A  public  school  system  was  thus  established  in  the  city, 
but  it  came  to  strength  and  efficiency  by  very  gradual  steps. 
The  first  year  there  were  five  ward  schools,  with  an  enroll- 
ment of  648  pupils,  and  an  average  attendance  of  355,  out 
of  a  school  population  of  2,128.  The  law  allowed  a  tax  of 
one-fourth  of  one  per  cent,  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
schools,  but  it  was  soon  found  to  be  utterly  inadequate  for 
this  purpose.  Soon  after  the  incorporation,  the  Common 
Council  resolved  that  the  debts  contracted  by  the  public 
schools  should  be  paid  out  of  the  fund  assigned  to  the  wards 
in  which  the  respective  schools  were  located. 

The  second  annual  report  of  the  board  of  school  com- 
missioners of  Milwaukee  shows  that,  during  the  year  ending 
April  1,  1848,  the  school  population  had  increased  from 
2,128  to  2,763.  Eight  free  schools  were  in  operation,  with 
an  enrollment  of  865,  and  an  average  attendance  of  67(>. 
The  expenditures  for  the  year  were  $3,512.99,  and  were 
met  by  the  proceeds  of  the  tax  authorized  by  the  law  of 


*Wight's  Annals  of  Milwaukee  College. 


22  GENERAL   SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

1840.  There  were  also  seventeen  private  schools,  with  722 
l)upils.  Complaint  was  made  by  the  board,  in  this  and  the 
preceding  years,  of  the  rickety,  overcrowded,  and  generally 
nnsuitable  buildings  in  which  the  public  schools  were 
housed.  The  legislature  in  1848  authorized  the  city  to 
raise  a  loan  of  |15,000,  for  the  construction  of  five  school 
houses  ;  but  money-lenders  were  long  disinclined  to  take  it 
u}),  although  the  city  offered  a  high  rate  of  interest.  The 
buildings  were  finally  completed  in  1852. 

IV. — CONSTITUTIONAL '  PROVISIONS. 

The  state  constitution  of  Wisconsin  made,  in  Article  X., 
the  following  provisions  for  public  education  : 

The  su])ervision  of  public  instruction  was  vested  in  the 
state  superintendent  of  schools,  who  should  be  chosen  by  the 
electors,  and  other  officers  to  be  appointed  by  the  legislature. 
The  salary  of  the  former  was  fixed  at  $1,200. 

For  the  school  fund  were  set  aside  the  following  sources 
of  income :  (a.)  The  proceeds  of  all  lands  granted  by  the 
United  States  for  educational  purposes,  except  the  grants  for 
a  university.  This  included,  besides  the  sixteenth  section  of 
each  township,  the  500,000  acres  given  by  the  act  of  Congress 
of  September  4,  1841 ;  also  five  per  cent,  of  the  net  proceeds 
of  public  lands,  to  which  the  state  was  entitled  on  her  ad- 
mission to  the  Union,  (b.)  All  moneys  and  the  clear  pro- 
ceeds of  all  property  accruing  to  the  state  by  forfeiture  or 
escheat,  (c.)  All  moneys  paid  as  an  equivalent  for  exemp- 
tion from  military  dut}-.  (d.)  The  clear  proceeds  of  all  fines 
collected  in  the  several  counties  for  any  breach  of  the  penal 
laws,  (e.)  All  moneys  arising  from  any  grant  to  the  state, 
Avhen  the  purposes  of  such  grant  shall  not  be  specified. 

The  interest  of  this  fund  and  all  other  revenues  derived 
from  the  school  lands  was  to  be  exclusively  applied  thus: 
(1.)  To  the  support  and  maintenance  of  common  schools  in 
each  school  district,  and  the  purchase  of  suitable  libraries 
and  apparatus  therefor.  (2.)  The  residue  was  appropriated 
to  the  support  and  maintenance  of  academies  and  normal 
schools,  and  libraries  and  apparatus  therefor. 

Laws  were  to  be  made  for  the  establishment  of  a  uniform 
system  of  district  schools,  to  be  free,  and  without  charge  for 
tuition,  to  all  children  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty 
years ;  and  no  sectarian  instruction  should  be  allowed  therein. 

Each  town  and  city  was  required  to  raise  by  annual 
tax,  for  the  support  of  common  schools  therein,  a  sum  not 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTOHY.  2^3 

less  than  one-half  the  amount  received  by  sueli  town  or  city 
from  the  income  of  the  school  fund. 

Provision  was  to  be  made  by  law  for  the  distribution  of 
the  school  fund  among  towns  and  cities,  in  proportion  to  the 
number  of  children  and  youth  resident  therein  ;  but  no 
appropriation  should  be  made  to  any  city  or  town  for  the 
year  in  which  said  town  or  city  should  fail  to  raise  its  tax, 
or  to  any  district  for  the  year  in  which  it  did  not  maintain 
a  school  at  least  three  months. 

A  state  university  was  to  be  established,  at  or  near  the 
seat  of  government ;  and  in  different  parts  of  the  state  such 
colleges  connected  with  the  same  as  the  interests  of  educa- 
tion might  require.  The  proceeds  of  all  lands  granted  by 
the  Federal  government  to  the  state  for  a  university  should 
be  a  perpetual  fund,  called  the  university  fund,  the  interest 
of  wliich  should  be  appropriated  to  the  support  of  a  state 
university,  in  which  no  sectarian  instruction  should  be  given. 

Tlie  secretary  of  state,  the  state  treasurer,  and  the  attor- 
ney-general were  constituted  a  board  of  commissioners  for 
the  sale  of  the  school  and  university  lands,  and  for  the  in- 
vestment of  the  fund  arising  therefrom.  Provision  was 
made  for  the  sale  of  these  lands,  and  investment  of  the  funds. 
If  the  purchase  money  was  not  paid  at  the  time  of  the  sale, 
a  mortgage  bearing  seven  per  cent,  annual  interest  should 
be  taken  on  the  land  sold  for  the  sum  unpaid. 

V. THE    SCHOOL    FUND. 

The  liberal  grants  of  Congress  for  education  became  for 
the  first  time  available  upon  the  organization  of  the  state. 
The  county  reports  of  ai)praisal  of  school  lands  for  the  year 
ending  September  1,1849,  were  defective,  and  do  not  furnish 
a  satisfactory  account  of  the  fund ;  but  a  careful  estimate, 
prepared  at  that  time  by  I.  A.  Lapham,  shows  the  land  area 
of  Wisconsin  to  be  54,816  square  miles,  and  the  number  of 
school  sections  1,523.  The  average  appraisal  of  school  lands 
was  §2,194.96  a  section.  The  state  superintendent's  report 
for  1849  gives  the  following  table : 

1,523  school  sections,  at  above  average  valuation... $3, 342, 924  08 

Section  16  of  Racine  city 74,205  25 

Waukesha  and  Jefferson  canal  lands 14,807  34 

Balance  of  the  500,000  acres  at  average  appraised 

valuation  of  school  lands 1 ,668,048  85 

The  5  per  cent,  for  1848-49 20,000  00 

Estimated  value  of  school  fund 85, 1 19,985  52 


24  GENERAL    SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL    HISTORY. 

During  the  first  year,  the  only  income  was  the  interest,. 
at  seven  per  cent.,  of  $8,400,  the  cash  paid  down  on  sales  of 
Section  16  in  Racine  city.  This  amounted  to  $588.00,  and 
when  apportioned  gave  but  8  3-10  mills  to  each  child.  As 
the  superintendent  very  naturally  remarked,  "  a  sum  so  very 
small  was  hardly  worthy  of  distribution." 

For  the  year  1850,  however,  the  report  is  more  encour- 
aging. From  May  to  November,  in  that  year,  were  offered 
for  sale  the  school  lands  of  fourteen  counties  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state,  amounting  to  148,021  acres,  of  which  were 
sold  89,758  acres,  at  a  slight  advance  on  the  appraised  value. 
Little  more  than  one-sixth  of  the  amount  due  was  paid  down 
on  sales ;  the  interest  of  the  proceeds,  with  five  per  cent, 
received  from  the  United  States  treasury  on  sales  of  govern- 
ment lands,  made  the  income  of  the  school  fund  amount  to 
$47,416.77,  which  allowed  each  child  51  8-10  cents.  St.  Croix 
county  neglected  to  levy  any  tax,  thus  forfeiting  its  share  of 
the  public  money,  $19.31.  The  total  amount  expended  in 
the  state  for  the  year  was  $142,017.96,  or  $1.55  for  each  child. 

The  population  of  the  state  was  now  305,391.*  It  was 
estimated  that  in  the  decade  between  1840  and  1850  at  least 
275,000  immigrants  had  entered  Wisconsin.  The  number 
of  children  of  school  age  in  1850  was  99,375,  and  the 
average  of  public  school  attendance  was  67  per  cent. 
Walworth  count}',  however,  reported  the  high  average  of 
91  per  cent.;  while  Milwaukee  county  stood  next  to  the 
lowest,  at  25  per  cent.  This  low  rate  seems  to  have  been 
due  to  the  large  number  of  pupils  sent  to  private  schools  in 
Milwaukee,  to  the  excess  of  foreign  population,  and  to  the 
lack  of  suitable  accommodations  in  the  public  schools. 

The  liberal  provision  of  the  sixteenth  section  in  each 
township  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  state  nearly  a  million 
acres  of  land  ;  and  to  this  Avas  added  by  act  of  Congress,  in 
1841,  a  further  grant  of  500,000  acres — a  magnificent 
endowment  for  the  educational  system  of  the  common- 
wealth, if  managed  with  honesty  and  economy.  But  influ- 
ences hostile  to  this  end  were  at  work  from  the  first.  Even 
before  the  territory  was  formed,  its  great  natural  advantages 
and  resources  had  attracted  many  shrewd,  keen-eyed  men — 
traders,  speculators,  and  capitalists — who  saw  here  abundant 
opportunity  for  money-making,  and  were  not  slow  to 
improve  it. 


^Hinsdale's  Old  Northwest,  p.  .343. 


GENERAL    SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL    HISTORY.  25 

The  same  spirit  of  speculation  which  helped  to  precij> 
itate  the  crash  of  1837  was  rife  throughout  the  Northwest. 
The  inflated  currency  (in  1836)  consisted  mainly  of  the 
notes  of  state  banks,  which  were  taken  in  payment  for  pub- 
lic lands.  President  Jackson's  circular  of  July  11,  1836^ 
compelled  specie  payments  after  August  15  of  that  year,  and 
checked  speculation ;  but  southwestern  Wisconsin  was  already 
largely  in  the  hands  of  speculators.*  In  the  same  year,  at 
Milwaukee,  immigration  began  early,  became  enormous  and 
lasted  until  late  in  the  season.  A  court  house  was  erected, 
a  land  office  was  opened,  and  speculation  was  the  occupation 
of  half  the  people.  Single  lots  sold  for  $500  to  $1,000.  For 
acreage  bought  the  year  before  at  the  government  price,  $35 
an  acre  was  now  refused.  The  crash  of  1837  burst  the 
bubble,  and  hundreds  who  had  come  here  staj-ed  because 
they  had  no  means  of  getting  away.  The  prosperity  of  the 
city  was  set  back  at  least  three  years,  and  the  effects  of  the 
collapse  were  visible  for  ten  years.f 

In  the  contest  for  the  location  of  the  capital  in  1836, 
the  claims  of  Milwaukee,  Racine,  Fond  du  Lac,  Green  Bay, 
and  a  dozen  other  cities,  were  successively  urged,  ^lany  of 
these  towns  merely  existed  upon  paper,  and  in  the  minds  of 
the  real  estate  speculators.  "  A  wild  spirit  of  town-site 
rivalry  had  been  born  with  the  territory,  and  the  Eastern 
markets  had  early  been  flooded  with  prospectuses,  maps  and 
bird's-eye  views  of  '  cities  '  which  were  thoroughly  equipped, 
in  these  florid  descriptions  and  fanciful  pictures,  with  court 
houses,  jails,  hospitals,  schools  and  other  modern  improve- 
ments." Curious  as  i^  may  seem  to  us  now,  the  little  town 
of  Kewaunee  was  the  center  of  a  scramble  for  gold,  which  some 
unknown  explorer  was  reported  to  have  found  there.  Real 
estate  forthwith  had  a  "  boom,"  rivaling  those  at  Ashland 
and  Minneapolis  in  recent  years  ;  and  among  the  eager  pur- 
chasers were  John  Jacob  Astor  and  Salmon  P.  Chase,  after- 
wards chief  justice  of  the  United  States.  By  1836  Kewau- 
nee aspired  to  rivalry  with  Chicago ;  but  the  gold  soon 
proved  to  be  an  illusion,  and  the  prices  of  lots  collapsed  ac- 
cordingly. The  imaginary  greatness  of  that  early  day  has 
never  since  then  been  realized  by  Kewaunee.| 

The  sales  of  government  lanclsin  AVisconsin,  previous  to 
December  31,  1836,  were  878,014  acres,  of  which  at  least  600-,- 

*Strong,  p.  218. 

tHist.  of  Mil.  (West.  Hist.  Co.),  p.  154. 

tThwaites,  pp.  19i)-200. 


■26  GENERAL   SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL    HISTORY. 

000  were  sold  to  speculators.*  Throughout  the  territorial  pe- 
riod immigration  poured  into  the  state  with  great  rapidity,  but 
speculation  was  there  ahead  of  it,  offering  all  sorts  of  induce- 
ments to  turn  the  tide  in  special  directions.  Much  of  the 
stream  was  diverted  into  northern  Ohio  and  Michigan  on 
the  way,  and  Wisconsin  must  needs  wait  for  the  overflow 
from  those  states.  To  hasten  this  process  seemed  desirable 
to  the  leading  promoters  of  Wisconsin ;  and  it  soon  became 
the  settled  policy  of  the  state  to  encourage  and  attract  immi- 
gration in  every  possible  way.  Within  certain  limits  this 
was  laudable  enough ;  but  for  this  object  the  school  lands 
were  shamefully  sacrificed,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  not  the  property  of  the  state,  but  only  held  in  trust  for 
the  support  of  schools — a  trust  that  should  have  been  kept 
inviolate  and  sacred. 

The  legislature  at  its  first  session  passed  acts  amply  pro- 
viding for  the  appraisal  of  the  school  and  university  Jands, 
and  for  the  selection  of  the  lands  in  the  500,000-acre  tract. 
During  the  years  from  1849  to  1855  inclusive,  the  state  paid 
out  the  amount  of  $35,032.55  for  the  selection  and  appraisal 
of  school  lands ;  but  much  of  this  expenditure  brought  no 
adequate  return,  if  we  may  judge  from  its  results.  Lands  of 
the  most  indifferent  character  were  often  selected,  and  in 
many  cases  appraised  at  ridiculously  low  figures — sometimes 
at  twenty,  ten,  or  even  five  cents  an  acre..  The  average  price 
realized  to  the  school  fund  from  the  sixteenth  sections, 
which  were  of  course  chance  locations,  w^as  but  $2.74  an 
acre ;  while  from  the  500,000-acre  tract,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  choice  and  selected  lands,  was  obtained  an  average  of 
only  $1.42  an  acre.f 

Compare  these  prices  with  those  obtained  b}'  Michigan 
for  her  school  lands,  which  were  sold  at  an  average  of  $4.50 
an*  acre.|  Compare  also  the  appraisals  of  Michigan  lands 
with  those  of  Wisconsin.  The  sixteenth  sections  in  twelve 
Michigan  counties  were  valued  at  prices  ranging  from  $800 
for  marsh  lands  to  $14,600  for  timbered  openings,  and  aver- 
aged $4,046  a  section. §  The  same  sections  in  ten  counties 
of  southeastern  Wisconsin,  the  garden  of  the  state,  were  val- 
ued at  an  average  of  $3,089  a  section. || 

*i^trong,  p.  217. 

tReport  of  joint  select  committee  to  investigate  defaulting  state 
officers,  1856. 

J.Smith's  Education  in  Michigan,  p.  18. 
?Rep.  Supt.  Pub.  Instr.  Michigan,  1837. 
IJRep.  Land  Commis.  Wis.,  18w. 


IProt  3,  X.  ||^ic^^ar^. 

Professor  J.  L.  Pickard  came  to  Wisconsin,  in  1846,  to  assume 
charge  of  Platteville  academy.  For  thirteen  years  he  conducted 
this  school,  performing  a  great  and  important  work,  in  those  days 
when  the  early  settlers  were  too  much  occui)ied  with  the  serious 
and  stern  duties  of  breaking  land  and  building  shelter  to  make 
large  provision  for  higher  education.  The  academy  opened  in 
1846,  with  five  pupils,  and  when  Professor  Pickard  was  called  to 
the  state  superintendency,  there  were  nearly  three  hundred. 

The  state  teachers'  association  owes  its  origin  to  Mr.  Pickard 
and  a  few  enterprising  and  devoted  teachers  who  met  at  Madison, 
for  the  purpose  in  1854.  From  1860  to  1864,  Professor  Pick- 
ard was  state  superintendent,  and  though  he  has,  since  the 
earlier  years  of  his  career,  occupied  the  post  of  superin- 
tendent of  schools  in  Chicago,  and  president  of  the  uni- 
versity in  Iowa  City,  he  has  maintained  his  interest  in  Wiscon- 
sin schools  and  in  the  progress  of  her  educational  institutions. 

Few  men  have  exercised  an  influence  so  genial  and  encour- 
aging to  the  advancement  of  the  cause  and  the  welfare  of  the 
profession  as  Mr.  Pickard.  He  is  remembered  with  affection  l)y 
many  of  our  teachers  who  now  occupy  important  posts  ;  and 
his  influence  in  promoting  the  advancement  of  education  l)y 
wise  legislation  during  the  formative  period  of  the  system,  enti- 
tles him  to  be  remembered  among  the  able  i)ioneers  who  buildcd 
not  for  themselves  but  for  posterity.  At  present  he  is  living  at 
Iowa  City,  and  resting  from  his  forty-five  years  of  faithful  labor, 
rich  only  in  the  experience  of  a  life  devoted  to  the  welfare  of 
others. 

W.  E.  A. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  27 

The  board  of  land  commissioners,  in  their  report  for 
1854,  mentioned  that  10,580  acres  of  lands  in  Waupaca 
county  had  been  selected,  under  the  500,000-acre  grant,  that 
were  "farming  lands  of  first-rate  quality,  well-watered  and 
timbered,  that  should  bring  considerably  more  than  the  ap- 
praised value."  These  very  lands  were  sold  the  next  year 
at  an  average  value  of  $2.19  an  acre!  The  commissioners, 
in  the  same  report,  say  that  "the  legislature  has  never,  since 
the  organization  of  the  state,  investigated  the  management 
of  the  school  fund;  and  that  a  thorough  investigation,  to  be 
made  as  promptly  and  fully  as  possible,  is  due  the  officers 
who  have  had  charge  of  it,  that  their  honor  and  integrity 
may  be  vindicated."  This  indicates  the  suspicion  already 
prevalent,  that  the  school  lands  were  being  mismanaged. 

The  investigation  they  asked  for  was  made  the  next 
year,  a  joint  committee  of  senate  and  assembly  being 
appointed  by  the  legislature  in  February,  1856,  to  examine 
into  the  scandal  which  now  involved  the  land  commission- 
ers and  other  officials.  The  committee  found  affairs  in  a 
very  serious  and  embarrassed  condition.  The  books  had 
been  kept  in  a  careless,  negligent  and  irregular  manner, 
and  showed  frequent  alterations,  and  the  accounts  had 
not  been  properly  audited.  Money  had  been  overdrawn 
from  the  treasury,  and  drawn  without  due  warrant — some- 
times with  no  vouchers  whatever.  The  land  commissioners 
and  other  officials  had  taken  advantage  of  their  positions  to 
speculate  in  lands ;  and  for  themselves  and  their  friends 
they  had  reserved  lands  from  sale  to  enable  the  purchaser 
to  examine  the  lands  before  buying.  Certificates  of  sale 
were  issued  to  clerks  in  the  office  without  an}^  payment  of 
money.  A  whole  section  in  Brown  county  was  sold  on  par- 
tial payment ;  and  afterward  a  patent  for  the  same  tract 
was  issued  to  the  chief  clerk  in  the  office,  without  the  pay- 
ment of  a  dollar,  at  the  nominal  price  of  one  shilling  an 
acre,  though  formerly  appraised  at  twelve  to  fourteen  shil- 
lings !  Fraudulent  certificates  of  sale  were  issued  on  lands 
forfeited  for  non-payment,  or  sold  to  the  first  purchaser  at 
less  than  the  first  appraisal.  Appraisals  were  made  con- 
trary to  law ;  mortgages  were  often  defective  or  not  recorded  ; 
fees  were  illegally  taken  ;  names  were  forged  to  entries  of 
lands,  and  money  was  withheld  by  the  commissioners  from 
the  proceeds  of  sales. 

The  lands  had  been  rapidly  sold.  These  defaulting 
commissioners  had  said,  in  their  report  for   1854:    "The 


28  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

more  rapidly  sales  can  be  effected,  so  much  sooner  will 
these  funds  realize  the  benefit  of  the  endowment  of  lands 
bestowed  upon  the  state  by  the  general  government.  And 
if  in  the  end  only  the  appraised  value  is  to  be  obtained,  the 
sooner  the  lands  are  sold  the  better."  This  opinion  is  so 
strong  an  indication  of  recklessness,  improvidence,  and  utter 
lack  of  apfft'eciation  of  the  trust  committed  to  them,  that  the 
report  itself  ought  to  have  justified  an  immediate  and  un- 
sparing investigation  of  their  official  conduct.  Unfortu- 
nately these  men  had  the  power,  during  three  years,  to 
squander  the  educational  resources  of  the  state. 

Over  7,000  acres  were  sold  to  one  person.  In  1854  were 
sold  over  200,000  acres  of  school  lands  from  the  500,000- 
acre  tract  (of  Avhicli  amount  129,520  acres  were  sold  to  nine 
persons)  without  any  part  of  the  principal  being  paid,  and  no 
other  security  except  the  lands  themselves.  Pine  lands  were 
sold  thus,  on  thirty  years'  time.  In  1853  a  few  persons 
combined  and  bought  130,000  acres.  The  investigating 
committee  reported  all  these  irregularities  and  frauds,  and 
stated  that  "  the  school  fund  had  sustained  great  loss  thereby, 
and  also  through  the  haste  with  which  the  school  lands  had 
been  brought  into  the  market ;  that  the  fund  might  have 
been  doubled  by  judicious  and  careful  management ;  that, 
instead,  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  had  been  embezzled, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  lost  or  squandered ;  and  that  the 
fund  had  been  handled  with  criminal  negligence,  wanton 
recklessness,  and  utter  disregard  for  the  most  responsible 
duties  that  could  be  imposed  on  man."  * 

And  yet  the  very  last  official  utterance  of  the  defaulting 
commissioners  to  the  public  was  this :  "  In  concluding  this 
report,  we  take  occasion  to  congratulate  the  people  of  this 
state  upon  the  fact  that  not  one  dollar  of  their  great  educa- 
tional endowmeiit  has  been  lost ;  that  the  whole  of  it  is  securely 
invested ;  and  that  no  apprehension  need  be  entertained  of 
the  loss  of  any  part  of  it  from  the  failure  of  the  securities 
which  are  held  for  the  pavment  of  its  principal  and  in- 
terest." 

An  actf  of  the  legislature  in  1856  added  to  the  school 
fund  three-fourths  of  the  net  proceeds  of  sales  of  swamp  and 
overflowed  lands  belonging  to  the  state  under  the  congres- 
sional grant  of  1850 — the  remaining  one-fourth  being  known 


*Jt.  SeL  Com.,  1856. 
fLaws,  1856,  Ch.  125. 


GENERAL  SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  29 

as  the  drainage  fund,  and  applied  to  the  reclamation  of 
swamp  lands,  as  provided  in  the  terms  of  the  grant.  From 
this  source  was  added  to  the  school  fund  nearly  |40,000  in  the 
first  year.  The  next  year,  the  amount  due  the  fund  on 
swamp  land  certificates  was  reported  at  $642,559.50.*  The 
legislature  now  set  aside  one-fourth  of  the  proceeds  from  the 
swamp  lands  to  establish  a  normal  school  fund  ;  and  in  1858 
another  one-fourth  was  given  to  the  drainage  fund.  In  1865 
the  remaining  one-fourth  was  transferred  to  the  normal 
school  fund,  with  the  proviso  that  one-fourth  of  the  in- 
come of  that  fund  should  be  transferred  to  the  common 
school  fund  until  the  annual  income  of  the  latter  should  ex- 
ceed S200,000.  In  1870  this  proviso  was  repealed,  and  the 
whole  income  of  the  normal  school  fund  was  applied  to  the 
support  of  normal  schools  and  teachers'  institutes. 

The  Federal  land  grants  not  only  made  the  foundation 
of  the  school  system,  but  they  gave  a  powerful  stimulus  to 
local  taxation.  Hon.  L.  C  Draper,  state  superintendent  in 
1858,  says  in  his  report  for  that  year  that  during  the  nine 
years  following  state  organization  at  least  50  per  cent,  more 
money  was  raised  by  taxation  for  school  purposes  than  was 
actually  required  in  order  to  share  the  state  bount}-.  The 
expenditures  for  common  schools  during  the  year  1890, 
amounted  to  $3,860,413.53.  Of  this  enormous  sum,  onh^ 
$439,684.22  was  derived  from  school  lands,  fines  and  other 
resources  of  the  general  fund.  The  one-mill  state  tax  gave 
$577,092.82;  and  the  remainder,  $2,815,424.03,  must  be 
raised  b}'  local  and  county  taxation.  It  wjll  thus  be  seen 
that  over  seven-eighths  of  the  expense  of  the  .school  .system 
is  a  burden  of  direct  taxation  on  the  citizens  themselves. 

From  the  first,  this  has  been  a  large  part  of  the  total  ex- 
penditure, and  only  for  a  few  years  was  it  greatly  relieved  by 
the  proceeds  of  the  school  lands.  This  was  due  not  only  to 
improvident  and  reckless  mismanagement  of  the  lands,  but 
to  the  great  increase  in  the  school  population  among  whom  it 
must  be  apportioned.  The  number  of  children  of  school  age  in 
1850  was  92,047.  The  state  superintendent's  report  for  1858 
remarks  that  at  that  time  only  five  states — New  York,  Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio,  Illinois  and  Indiana,  in  the  order  named — sur- 
passed Wisconsin  in  the  reported  number  of  children  of  school 
age.  In  1860,  this  number  was  288,984,  and  in  1890  it  was 
592,755. 


*Lan<l  Com.,  18.i7. 


30  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

The  school  fund  has  been  somewhat  increased  by  re- 
ceipts from  other  sources  than  the  lands.  The  five  per  cent, 
of  net  proceeds  of  public  lands  in  Wisconsin,  sold  by  the 
Federal  government,  was  paid  to  the  state  in  1850,  amounting 
to  $22,537.56 ;  but  from  that  time  till  1865  this  percentage 
was  withheld,  on  account  of  difficulties  arising  between  the 
state  and  general  governments  over  the  disposal  of  the  Mil- 
waukee and  Rock  river  canal  lands.  These  lands  were 
granted  in  1838  to  the  canal  company,  and  the  future  state 
of  Wisconsin  was  made  trustee  and  held  responsible  for  the 
proper  use  of  the  grant.  After  the  company  abandoned  the 
enterprise,  the  lands  remaining  unsold — nearly  125,000  acres 
— were  sold  by  the  territory,  and  the  proceeds  used  to  pay  ter- 
ritorial expenses.  The  Federal  government  therefore  kept 
back  the  percentage  on  sales  of  public  lands,  and  also  a  part 
of  the  500,000-acre  grant,  until  the  state  should  settle  the 
account.  This  was  done  in  1865,  since  which  time  the  five 
per  cent,  has  been  regularly  paid  by  the  United  States.  At 
the  time  of  settlement  this  percentage  had  accumulated  to 
the  amount  of  $250,139.11,  which  was  paid  to  Wisconsin 
after  deducting  the  $101,262.33  which  had  previously  been 
used  by  the  state  for  its  own  purposes.*  This  sum  was  evi- 
dently due  from  the  state  to  the  school  fund,  but  it  was  not 
repaid  until  1891.  In  that  year  Congress,  by  an  act  approved 
March  3,  refunded  "  to  the  states  and  territories  all  moneys 
levied  and  collected  under  the  direct  tax  act  of  Congress  ap- 
proved August  5,  1861." 

The  state  legislature  thereupon  enactedf  that  the  money 
thus  received  from  the  United  States  should  be  apportioned 
to  the  school,  normal  school  and  drainage  funds  and  their 
incomes.  Under  this  act  $141,672.04  was  placed  to  the  credit 
of  the  school  fund,  and  S23,568.57  to  that  of  its  income. | 
The  former  amount  included  the  $101,262.33  withheld  by 
the  United  States  in  1865,  the  interest  on  which  sum  had 
been  paid  by  the  state  to  the  school  fund  ever  since  1866. § 
This  interest  has  ceased  since  the  principal  was  refunded  bv 
the  act  of  1891.' 

Very  little  has  been  received  by  the  state  from  forfeiture 
or  escheat,  or  from  payment  for  exemption  from  military 
duty.     Another   constitutional   source   of   increase   for   the 


*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  186.3,  p.  23. 
tLaws,  1891,  Ch.  4.53. 
XRep.  Secv.  State,  1891. 
§Laws,  1866,  Ch.  79. 


GENERAL  SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY,  31 

school  fund  remains  to  be  noted — that  of  "  fines  collected  in 
the  several  counties  for  any  breach  of  the  penal  laws."  As 
early  as  1853,  the  state  superintendent  called  attention  to  the 
smallness  of  the  returns  for  these  fines,  saying :  "  The 
amount  cannot  be  small  which  is  thus  lost  to  the  school  fund 
from  the  suspicious  negligence  or  open  dishonesty  of  public 
ofiicers ;  often  this  portion  of  the  school  fund  is  fraudulently 
made  a  stipend  of  oflftce."  In  1867  the  superintendent's  re- 
port said  :  "  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  only  $2,846.08 
was  obtained  from  this  source  during  the  past  year,  and  still 
more  difficult  to  see  wh}^  several  of  the  most  populous  coun- 
ties in  the  state  have  not  contributed  any  part  of  this  small 
amount."  In  1880  the  same  official  reported  that  during 
the  preceding  ten  years  only  $10,186.72  had  been  paid  to  the 
state  for  fines ;  and  that  in  1880  fifty-one  counties  made  no 
returns  whatever  to  the  state  for  such  collections.  The  attor- 
ney-general therefore  petitioned  the  supreme  court  to  issue  a 
mandamus  against  one  of  the  delinquent  county  treasurers, 
to  compel  him  to  make  report  and  payment  to  the  state  of 
all  fines  collected  during  the  past  year.*  This  was  a  test 
case  for  all  counties  failing  to  report,  and  was  decided  in 
favor  of  the  state  in  June,  1881.  The  fines  for  1880,  paid  in 
accordance  with  this  decision,  amounted  to  $10,833.80 ;  and  at 
least  $5,000  more  was  due  for  that  year.  It  was  estimated 
that  at  least  $100,000  was  lost  to  the  school  fund  from  this 
source  prior  to  1880.t 

The  amount  received  in  1882  was  $20,557.75 ;  but  since 
then  the  amounts  have  decreased,  and  another  investigation 
is  evidently  needed.  "The  amounts  returned  by  the  coun- 
ties are  often  disproportionate  to  their  population  or  wealth. 
The  county  treasurers  now  pay  what  they  receive ;  but  the 
justices  of  the  peace  still  consider  fines  an  official  perquisite. ";{: 
Tables  prepared  by  the  present  state  superintendent  sliow 
that  the  fines  paid  to  the  state  from  1887  to  1892,  inclusive, 
aggregate  onlv  $98,734.31,  the  annual  amounts  varying  from 
$13,000  to  $22,000.  Especially  significant  are  the  figures 
in  the  following  table  of  returns  from  two  sets  of  counties. 
The  fines  are  for  the  six  years  just  named. § 


*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1880,  p.  xli. 
tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1881,  p.  xl. 
JSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892. 
g  .Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892. 


32 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 


Counties. 


Dane 

Rock 

Douglas 

Trempealeau. 

Jefferson 

Pierce  


Population. 


Six  Counties. 


189,r>01 


Milwaukee 236,101 


Dodge. 
Kewaunee.... 
Washington. 
Outagamie ... 
Marquette.... 


44,984 
16,153 
22,751 
38,690 
9,676 


Six  Counties \      1^355 


Fines. 


59,978 

!    $  6,510  00 

43,220 

5,8<56  00 

13,4(>8 

3,353  00 

18,920 

3,713  00 

33,530 

3,284  00 

20,;^5 

2,045  00 

24,771  00 


1,947  00 
691  00 
41  00 
285  00 
509  00 
110  00 


3,583  00 


The  following  table  shows  the  amount  and  income  of 
the  school  fund,  with  the  apportionment  of  the  income,  by 
decades,  and  during  the  past  year  : 


Year. 

No.  of  8ch. 
Popul. 

Amount  of  Produc- 
tive School  F  und. 

Income  of 
School  Fund. 

Rateper 
Child. 

1850... 

92,105 

288,984 
412,481 
483,229 
592,755 

618,884 

$  538,094  41 
1      2,339,694  4(> 
2,290,627  51 
2,747,843  62 
2,768,398  58 
3,358,502  50 

$  47,716  77 
204,568  12 
170,711  21 
193,155  90 
7r>5,897  33 
824,887  93 

.518 

18<30 

1870 

.64 
.40 

1880 

1890 

1892 

.40 
1.342 
1.354 

A  remarkable  increase  in  the  income  is  noticeable  dur- 
ing the  decade  1880-1890.  This  is  caused  by  the  legislative 
act  of  1885,  levying  a  state  tax  of  one  mill  on  every  dollar 
of  taxable  property  for  the  benefit  of  tlie  school  fund  income. 
This  action  recognized  the  fact  that  all  school  children  are 
wards  of  the  state,  and  made  provision  for  meeting  the  obli- 
gation thus  imjwsed;  and  it  tended  to  equalize  the  burdens 
of  taxation,  which  hitherto  had  lain  heavily  on  the  poorer 
districts.*  This  state  tax  more  than  trebled  the  school  fund 
income,  and  is  still  its  principal  source.  The  amount  re- 
ceived from  it  in  1892  was  $623,859.42. 


*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  ISSo-SO. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  33 

There  are  still  61,613.47  acres  of  unsold  lands  belonging 
to  the  school  fund.  The  productive  fund,  as  given  above, 
now  amounts  to  ^3,358,502.50,  safely  invested.  Nearly  half 
of  this  is  in  the  form  of  "certificates  of  indebtedness,"  repre- 
senting loans  made  to  the  state  for  war  purposes,  authorized 
by  acts  of  the  legislature  during  and  immediately  after  the 
war.  These  certificates  bear  seven  per  cent,  interest,  which 
is  paid  annually  into  the  income  of  the  fund.  The  remainder 
is  invested  in  bonds  of  cities,  villages  and  towns,  or  in  loans 
to  those  corporations — often  to  boards  of  education,  for 
building  school  houses.  It  is  worth  noticing  here  that,  as  far 
back  as  1852,  the  state  superintendent  in  his  annual  report 
suggested,  in  view  of  the  reckless  way  in  which  the  educa- 
tional trusts  of  the  state  were  being  administered,  that  "  the 
school  fund  be  loaned  in  limited  sums  to  school  districts  for 
the  erection  of  school  buildings,  the  interest  to  be  paid  by  an 
annual  tax.  In  this  way  the  fund  would  be  loaned  on  un- 
questioned security,  and  both  principal  and  interest  be 
directly  applied  to  the  purposes  of  education — the  former  for 
buildings,  and  the  latter  for  wages  of  teachers,  etc."  This 
enlightened  and  sensible  scheme  was  not  adopted,  unfortu- 
nately for  the  interests  of  the  school  fund. 

VI. THE    UNIVERSITY    AM)    ITS    FUND. 

The  constitution  provided  not  only  for  the  common 
schools  but  for  the  university.  The  efibrts  of  the  territorial 
legi.slature  in  this  direction  have  already  been  mentioned, 
as  well  as  the  congressional  grant  of  two  townships  of  land, 
in  1838,  for  the  support  of  a  university  in  Wisconsin. 

Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  unlike  the  other  states,  were 
authorized  to  select  the  university  lands  in  separate  tracts, 
of  not  less  than  an  entire  section  each,  from  the  unoccupied 
lands  in  any  part  of  the  state,  and  had  thus  the  opportunity 
to  choose  lands  of  the  best  quality.*  Part  of  these  were 
located  and  appraised  before  1848,  when  the  legislature  at 
its  first  session  authorized  the  appointment  of  appraisers  for 
the  school  and  university  lands  in  each  county.  They  were 
required  to  take  oath  that  they  would  appraise  the  same  at 
a  fair  value,  without  reference  to  improvements  made 
thereon,  but  with  due  consideration  for  other  circumstances, 
as  proximity  of  settlement,  credit  for  purcha.se-money,  etc. 
Nevertheless,   the  appraisals   were   often   ridiculously   low. 

^ 

*Allcn'8  Hijrher  FAlucation  in  Wisconsin,  \\.  12. 


34  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

Sixty-three  sections  were  appfaised  at  an  average  value  of 
$2.78  an  acre,  ranging  from  $1.13  in  Grant  county  to  $7.06 
in  Washington  county.*  The  same  injurious  policy  was 
pursued  that  so  damaged  the  school  fund — mortgaging  the 
future  of  education  for  the  sake  of  present  increase  in 
numbers. 

The  board  of  visitors  appointed  by  the  territorial  legis- 
lature had  tried  to  secure  control  of  the  university  lands, 
but  in  vain.  The  boards  of  regents  serving  later  had 
urgently  appealed  to  the  legislatures  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
spoliation  and  waste  of  the  funds,  but  their  remonstrances 
were  seldom  heeded.  All  control  of  the  financial  interests 
of  the  university  was  withheld  from  those  who  would  have 
administered  them  with  conscientious  and  careful  fidelity, 
and  those  interests  were  left  a  prey  to  all  sorts  of  political, 
speculative  and  selfish  influences.  The  successive  legisla- 
tures, with  but  one  exception — that  of  1850— continued  to 
sacrifice  the  educational  trust  funds,  in  order  to  accelerate 
the  settlement  of  the  state  and  to  aid  the  ambitious  schemes 
of  individuals.  In  a  few  j-ears  nearly  all  the  lands  had 
been  sold ;  and  from  the  seventy -two  sections  were  secured 
only  §150,000.t  From  a  similar  grant  Michigan  realized 
over  $500,000.  At  the  first  sale  of  her  university  lands,  the 
average  price  obtained  was  $22.85  an  acre,  and  later  prices 
ranged  from  $15  to  $19.| 

The  proceeds  of  the  first  grant  were  entirely  inadequate 
to  the  support  of  the  university,  and  another  grant  of 
seventy-two  sections  was  made  by  Congress  in  1854.  These 
lands  were  selected  from  the  choicest  in  the  state,  in  Pierce, 
Portage  and  Kewaunee  counties,  but  they  were  appraised  at 
only  $3.00  an  acre,  although  their  actual  market  value  at 
the  time  ranged  from  $10  to  $20.  During  1856  were  sold 
37,936  acres  of  these  lands  for  about  $127,000.§ 

The  Federal  grant  of  1862  gave  240,000  acres  to  the 
university  for  an  agricultural  college,  but  even  this  was 
also  mismanaged,  the  sad  experience  of  the  past  having 
apparently  failed  to  teach  legislators  either  the  duty  or  the 
necessity  of  managing  public  trusts  with  honesty  and  econ- 
omy. Lands  located  under  this  grant  were  not  properly 
selected  or  appraised,  and  were  put  on  the  market  at  nomi- 


*Carpenter's  Hist.  Sketch  of  Univ.  of  Wis.,  p.  L'i. 

t Allen,  p.  15. 

:{:Hi8t.  Atlas  of  Wis.,  p.  157. 

ICarpenter,  pp.  17-19. 


GENERAL   SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  35 

nal  prices,  as  low  as  $1.25  an  acre.  Efforts  were  made  by 
friends  of  the  university  to  get  the  best  of  these  lands  with- 
held from  sale  for  a  time,  as  their  location — largely  within 
the  limits  of  the  Wisconsin  Central  and  St.  Croix  railroad 
grants — was  steadily  increasing  their  market  value.  But 
the  indifference  of  the  legislature  and  the  wire-pulling  of 
interested  parties  combined  to  defeat  those  efforts,  and  the 
lands  were  left  on  the  market,  most  of  them  being  sold  to 
speculators,  who  reaped  the  advance  in  price  that  rightfully 
belonged  to  the  university.  Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the 
loss  sustained  by  the  university  fund  from  this  ruinous 
l)olicy  may  be  gained  from  the  statement  that,  during  the 
thirty  years  after  territorial  organization,  nearly  75,000  acres 
of  its  lands  were  sold  for  $264,750.13,  an  average  of  little 
more  than  $3.50  an  acre.* 

Great  losses  to  the  trust  funds  also  resulted  from  the 
absurd  and  unbusiness-like  system  of  investments  practiced 
up  to  1862,  by  which  the  three  land  commissioners  were 
made  responsible  for  loaning  the  proceeds  of  land  sales,  in 
sums  not  exceeding  $500  each,  to  persons  all  over  the  state, 
of  whose  responsibilit}^  they  could  know  little,  if  anything. 
They  frequently  complained  of  this  ;  and  finally,  in  1862, 
the  legislature  authorized  them  to  make  investments  in  state 
bonds.  Subsequent  laws  provided  for  loaning  the  funds  to 
cities  and  counties,  and  for  investments  in  United  States 
bonds,  t 

When  we  consider  the  character  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Wisconsin,  we  can  liardly  understand  the  lack  of  public  con- 
science displaj'ed  in  their  mismanagement  of  the  educational 
trust  funds.  Other  considerations,  however,  may  partly  ac- 
count for  it.  The  great  size  of  the  state,  with  lack  of  facil- 
ities for  communication  and  transportation,  and  the  extreme 
rapidity  Avith  which  the  streams  of  immigration  poured  in 
from  many  and  different  sources,  long  prevented  the  integra- 
tion of  the  commonwealth  and  the  assimilation  of  its  varied 
elements.  Its  material  resources,  too,  were  vast  and  diver- 
sified— fertile  prairie  lands,  magnificent  and  extensive 
forests,  rich  mines  and  quarries,  and  streams  available  for 
water-power  or  transportation — and  to  control  and  employ 
these  at  first  taxed  men's  energies  of  body  and  mind  to  the 
utmost.  Few  of  the  early  settlers  were  rich,  and  most  of 
them  found  that  unceasing  toil  was  necessary  for  the  sup- 

*Hi8t.  Atlas  p.  157. 

fLaws,  1862,' Cii.  89;  18()4,  Ch.  217;  18()7,  Cli.  4(');  18(58,  Ch.  111. 


36  GENERAL   SKETCH  OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

port  of  their  families.  Under  the  pressure  of  these  imme- 
diate needs  their  interest  and  attention  was  absorbed  by  tlie 
preseiit,  and  they  found  little  time  to  plan  for  the  future. 
Those  same  natural  resources  offered,  too,  at  once  opportun- 
ity and  temptation  for  speculation  and  selfish  aggrandize- 
ment ;  and  their  variety  and  extent  not  only  attracted  ad- 
venturers and  unscrupulous  manipulators,  but  intoxicated 
with  the  hope  of  gain  many  who  had  abandoned  the  stony 
hillsides  of  New  England  or  the  exhausted  plantations  of  the 
South.  Not  a  few  of  the  former  class  secured  large  in- 
fluence and  control  in  public  affairs,  as  is  shown  by  the  inner 
history  of  many  a  questionable  enactment  or  appointment. 
All  intelligent  and  public-spirited  citizens  appreciated  the 
need  and  desirability  of  increasing  the  population  of  this 
promising  young  state,  and  of  securing  therefor  the  choicest 
of  the  bands  of  pioneers  who  were  swarming  over  the  Alle- 
ghanies  into  the  great  Northwest.  The  hostility  to  state 
control  of  higher  education,  which  prevailed  among  a 
majority  of  the  people,  is  another  potent  factor  in  the  prob- 
lem. From  all  these  considerations  we  may  partly  under- 
stand why  a  generation  must  pass  away  before  popular  edu- 
cation of  high  grade  could  become  a  paramount  interest  in 
the  new  state. 

Before  continuing  our  account  of  the  university  fund  it 
is  well  to  note  the  status  of  the  university  as  an  institution 
during  its  early  years.  Pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the 
state  constitution,  the  University  of  Wisconsin  was  incor- 
porated at  the  first  session  of  the  legislature,  and  its  control 
was  vested  in  a  board  of  regents  and  a  chancellor.  Little 
could  be  done  at  first.  The  public  at  large  had  no  enthus- 
iasm for  collegiate  education,  and  there  were  no  preparatory 
schools  to  fit  students  for  it.  Even  the  common  schools  were 
poor  and  struggling,  ungraded,  insufficiently  equipped,  and 
poorly  taught.  But  it  was  necessary  to  establish  and  main- 
tain at  once  an  institution  planned  at  least  on  university 
lines,  in  order  to  secure  the  endowment  funds  already 
granted  and  to  prevent  them  from  being  squandered,  or 
diverted  to  other  purposes. 

Accordingly  the  regents  selected  the  present  site,  at 
Madi.son,  and  purchased  fiftj-  acres  of  land.  As  it  was  yet 
impossible  to  organize  regular  university  classes,  a  prepara- 
tory school  was  opened  February  5,  184^),'  under  charge  of 
Professor  J.  W.  Sterling,  whose  connection  with  the  univer- 
sitv  continued  for  thirtv-four  years.      A  chancellor  was  also 


(JENERAL   SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  37 

chosen,  John  H.  Lathrop,  then  president  of  the  Univei-sity 
of  Missouri.  Six  professorships  were  estabHshed  in  the  de- 
partment of  science,  Hterature  and  the  arts,  and  a  normal 
professorship  for  that  of  the  theory  and  practice  of  elemen- 
tary instruction.  The  organization  of  this  latter  department 
was  obHgatory  in  the  act  of  incorporation,  and  it  was  from 
the  first  a  question  of  the  utmost  interest  and  importance. 
Efforts  were  made  for  several  years  to  secure  aid  from  the 
school  fund  for  the  normal  department  of  the  university  ; 
but  the  constitutional  provision  for  sucli  use  of  school 
moneys  seemed  to  contemplate  only  separate  schools  for 
purely  professional  training.  For  lack  of  funds,  the  normal 
department  was  not  opened  till  1863,  though  in  1856  and  1857 
two  courses  in  tlie  art  of  teaching  were  given  by  Professor 
Daniel  Read.  The  first  universitv  class  was  formed  August 
4,  1850. 

The  university  needed  buildings,  but  could  secure  no 
appropriation  from  the  state  for  this  purpose.  The  necessary 
funds  were  therefore  taken,  in  the  form  of  loans,  from  the 
principal  of  the  university  fund.  To  repay  these  loans  the 
income  of  the  fund  was  taken,  thus  crippling  the  work  and 
progress  of  the  university  for  many  years.  Not  a  dollar 
was  given  by  the  state  to  its  university  before  1866,  not- 
withstanding the  poverty  and  struggles  of  the  institution — 
notwithstanding,  too,  the  recklessness  and  incompetence 
shown  by  the  state  in  its  management  of  the  university 
funds.  Legislators  forgot  that  the  Federal  lands  were 
granted  only  for  the  maintenance  and  support  of  the 
university ;  that  upon  the  state  should  rest  the  duty  of 
providing  sites  and  buildings ;  and  that  the  state  was  only 
the  custodian  and  trustee  of  the  university  lands,  which 
should  be  held  as  a  sacred  trust  for  the  benefit  of  education 
in  the  commonwealth.  They  came  to  consider  these  lands 
as  the  absolute  property  of  the  state,  and  therefore  regarded 
any  expenditures  for  the  university  as  so  much  taken  from 
the  state  treasury,  and  thus  an  addition  to  the  burden  of 
general  taxation. 

Efforts  were  even  made  to  break  up  the  university,  and 
obtain  a  division  of  its  funds  among  the  denominational 
colleges  of  the  state.  Complaints  of  mismanagement,  in- 
efficiency, and  lack  of  practical  aim  in  the  conduct  of  the 
institution  were  made,  which  led,  in  1858,  to  a  reorganization 
of  its  curriculum  and  methods  upon  more  practical  and 
modern  lines.     This  action  restored  to  the  university  public 


38  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

confidence  and  sympatliy ;  but  further  beneficial  results 
were  hindered  for  several  years  by  lack  of  funds,  by  the  un- 
settled financial  condition  of  the  country,  and  by  the  occur- 
rence of  the  civil  war.  All  these  influences,  especially  the 
last,  were  terribly  depressing  to  the  struggling  university ; 
and  it  might  have  succumbed  to  them,  if  the  regents  had 
not  taken  prompt  and  decisive  action.  Instructors  were 
dismissed,  and  all  expenses  reduced  to  the  lowest  figure. 
By  the  war  classes  were  decimated  and  the  accession  of  new 
students  prevented.  The  income  of  the  university  dwindled 
till,  in  1866,  it  provided  only  the  paltry  sum  of  |5,646.40  to 
meet  all  the  expenses  of  the  current  year.  Bv  a  law  of 
1862,*  the  sum  of  SI 04,339.42  had  been  taken  from  the  uni- 
versity fund  to  pay  for  buildings.  Restitution  was  made, 
five  years  later;  but  meanwhile  the  loss  of  the  income  from 
this  amount  greatly  crippled  the  institution. 

A  normal  department  was  opened  in  1863,  with  112 
students,  of  whom  76  were  women.  This  was  the  first  time 
that  women  had  been  allowed  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  the 
state  university.  The  normal  department  was  continued 
until  1869,  when  it  was  enlarged  into  a  female  college. 
Four  years  later,  all  departments  of  the  university  were 
opened  to  both  sexes  without  discrimination,  and  women 
have  ever  since  formed  a  large  part  of  the  student  body. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  the  attendance  of  students 
was  greatly  increased,  and  it  was  impossible  to  meet  their 
needs  without  enlarging  the  income  of  the  institution,  and 
increasing  its  facilities  for  instructit)n.  The  time  had  now 
come  when  a  thorough  and  complete  reorganization  of  the 
university  was  necessary  to  its  success.  By  this  time  the 
natural  resources  of  the  state  had  become  considerably  devel- 
oped, and  its  population  and  its  wealth  had  greatly  increased. 
The  territory  and  the  state  had  been  gradually  developing 
into  the  commonwealth,  and  sympathetic  and  concerted 
action  by  its  people  had  become  more  than  possible.  As 
this  process  went  on,  the  popular  interest  in  higher  educa- 
tion had  also  increased,  while  the  earlier  prejudices  against 
its  control  by  the  state  were  fast  disappearing — both  condi- 
tions of  feeling  being  doubtless  stimulated  by  the  success  of 
state  universities  in  Michigan  and  other  neighboring  states. 
Pending  these  developments,  the  donations  of  the  Federal 
government  had  kept  the  university  alive,  through  a  period 


*I^ws,  1862,  Ch.  268. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  39 

when  the  people  of  Wisconsin  were  neither  able  or  willing  to 
tax  themselves  for  its  support.  They  were  now,  however, 
ready  to  help  bear  the  burden,  and  the  university  fund  had 
so  depreciated  that  state  aid  was  absolutely  necessar3\ 

Accordingly  the  legislature  passed  a  bill*  (approved 
April  12,  1866,)  entirely  reorganizing  the  university.  In- 
struction in  branches  connected  with  scientific  and  indus- 
trial pursuits  was  given  a  prominent  place  in  its  work,  and 
military  tactics  were  made  compulsory  for  the  men  students. 
For  its  endowment  was  appropriated,  in  addition  to  the  existing 
university  fund,  the  income  arising  from  the  sales  of  the 
240,000  acres  of  land  granted  by  Congress  in  J  862,  to  be 
known  as  the  ''  agricultural  college  fund  ;  "  also  all  further 
contributions,  public  or  private,  to  the  resources  of  the  uni- 
versity. The  agricultural  college  was  opened,  and  an  experi- 
mental farm  of  195  acres  was  given  for  its  use,  by  Dane 
county.  In  1867,  the  legislature  appropriatedf  annually 
for  ten  years  thereafter,  to  the  income  of  the  university  fund, 
the  sum  of  $7,303.76.  This  was  interest  upon  the  amount 
taken  from  the  fund  by  the  law  of  1862,  which  was  thus 
virtually  restored  to  the  university.  The  state  treasurer 
was  made  ex-officio  treasurer  of  the  university  fund,  thus 
relieving  its  income  from  an  expense  of  nearly  $1,000  a 
year,  which  had  hitherto  been  charged  by  the  state  for  the 
care  of  the  university  lands  and  accounts. 

The  reorganization  of  1866  marked  the  beginning  of  a 
new  era  in  the  history  of  the  university.  The  people  of  the 
state  had  begun  to  appreciate  its  benefits  to  them,  and  to  feel 
an  interest  in  its  success ;  and  the  money  so  essential  to  its 
enlargement  and  improvement  was  thereafter  liberally  sup- 
plied. In  1870  the  sum  of  $50,000  was  appropriated  for  the 
erection  of  ladies'  hall — the  first  donation  made  by  the  state 
to  its  university.  In  1875  science  hall  was  built  at  an 
expense  of  $80,000 ;  and  in  1879  the  library  building,  cost- 
ing $30,000.  The  pressing  need,  for  an  observatory  was 
satisfied  by  the  generous  gift  of  Hon.  C.  C.  Washburn,  who 
erected  and  equipped  Washburn  observatory  in  1878,  at  his 
own  expense.  Science  hall  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1884 ; 
but  the  legislature  immediately  appropriated,  from  the  gen- 
eral fund  of  the  state,  $150,000  for  a  new  building,  with  a 
machine  shop  and  boiler  house.  A  chemical  laboratory  was 
also  built,  costing  $20,000 ;  and  an  equal  sum  was  expended 

*Law8,  1860,  Ch.  114. 
fLaws,  1867,  Ch.  82. 


40  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

for  lieating  apparatus.  In  1887  the  liberal  sum  of  S175,000 
was  appropriated  for  the  completion,  furnishing  and  appar- 
atus of  science  hall,  and  for  steam  heating  and  plumbing  in 
this  and  other  buildings.  Frequent  improvements  in  and 
additions  to  the  buildings  have  been  made  at  various  times. 

By  an  act  of  the  legislature  approved  ]March  22,  1872, 
a  state  tax  was  ordered  to  be  ievied  for  the  3'ear  1872,  and 
annually  thereafter,  to  the  amount  of  $10,000  each  year,  to 
be  used  as  a  part  of  the  university  income.  The  preamble 
to  this  act  frankly  cites  the  mismanagement  of  the  univer- 
sity lands  by  the  state,  and  the  consequent  impairment  of 
the  fund,  as  a  reason  for  this  appropriation.  This  act  and 
that  of  1807,  authorizing  a  tax  for  the  benefit  of  the  univer- 
sity, were  superseded  in  1876  b}'  a  state  tax  of  one-tenth 
mill  on  the  dollar  on  the  assessed  valuation  of  taxable 
property  in  the  state.  This  tax  was  to  be  deemed  a  full 
compensation  for  all  deficiencies  in  the  income,  arising  from 
the  disposition  of  the  lands  donated  to  the  state  by  Congress 
in  trust  for  the  university.  The  sum  of  ^3,000  annually 
Avas  set  apart  from  the  proceeds  of  this  tax  for  a.stronomical 
work  and  instruction  in  connection  with  the  observatory. 
By  the  same  act,  students  resident  in  the  state — excepting 
special  and  law  students — were  thereafter  exempted  from 
payment  of  tuition  fees.*  This  state  tax  has  become  the 
main  resource  of  the  university.  It  was  increased  in  1883 
to  one-eighth  mill  on  the  dollar,  the  increase  over  one-tenth 
mill  being  used  for  the  establishment  of  a  chair  of  pharmacy 
and  materia  medica,  and  of  an  agricultural  experiment 
station. 

The  legislature  of  1889  memorialized  Congress  for  a 
grant  of  $15,000  for  the  support  of  the  experiment  station. 
This  request  was  met  by  an  appropriation  of  $15,000, 
increasing  annually  by  $1,000  until  it  reaches  $25,000,  for 
the  more  complete  endowment  of  the  college  of  agriculture 
and  mechanics.  Special  annual  appropriations  were  made' 
by  the  state  as  follows:  In  1887,  for  agricultural  institutes, 
$12,000;  for  employment  of  a  director  at  Washburn  observ- 
atory, $3,000.  In  1889,  for  the  summer  school  for  teachers. 
$1,000 ;  for  the  department  of  mechanical  arts,  and  the 
establishment  of  courses  in  railroad  and  electrical  engineer- 
ing, one  per  cent,  of  the  proceeds  of  the  state  tax  on  trans- 
portation and  electric  companies. 


*Law8, 1876,  Ch.  117. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  41 

A  state  tax,  of  one-tenth  mill  on  the  dollar  annually, 
was  ordered  to  be  levied  for  six  years,  by  the  legislature  of 
1891,  to  be  used  for  the  construction  and  maintenance  of 
buildings  for  the  military,  dairy  and  law  departments. 
These  buildings  are  now  in  process  of  erection. 

The  income  of  the  University,  for  the  year  ending  June 
30,  1892,  was  as  follows:* 

Income  from  productive  university  fund 8  16,102  45 

Income  trom  agricultural  college  fund 16,961  95 

State  tax,  one-eighth  mill  (Ch.  300,  1883) 77,982  43 

Stsite  tax,  one-tenth  mill  (Ch.  29,  1891) 62,385  94 

Appropriation  (Ch.  282,  1881) 12,415  04 

Appropriation  (Ch.  418,  1887) 3,000  00 

Appropriation  (Ch.  62,  1887) 12,000  00 

Treasurer  United  States  for  experiment  station 15,000  00 

Treasurer  United  States  for  agricultural  college 18,000  00 

Students,  fees,  tuition,  etc 21,186  43 

Students,  laboratory  expenses 5, 106  42 

Farm  sales 4.897  76 

Time  service,  obser^^atory 875  50 

Income  trom  Jackson  bequest 461  65 

Mitchell  scholarships 1,000  00 

Johnston  scholarships 250  00 

Johnston  fellowship 400  00 

Other  sources 485  03 

18268,510  60 

The  productive  university  fund  now  amounts  to  $228,- 
629.57,  and  is  drawing  interest  mainly  at  7  per  cent.  There 
still  remain  to  its  credit  1,139.40  acres  of  unsold  land.  The 
agricultural  college  fund  is  valued  at  $290,954,  besides 
923.07  acres  of  unsold  land.f 

In  its  earlier  history  the  university  found  its  preparatory 
department  a  necessary  appendage  ;  but  as  the  high  schools 
of  the  state  increased  in  number  and  quality,  they  were  able 
to  take  its  place.  In  order  to  encourage  the  work  of  the  high 
schools  in  fitting  students  for  the  university,  the  preparatory 
department  of  the  latter  was  closed  in  1880.  It  was  feared 
by  some  that  this  action  would  be  injurious  to  the  institution ; 
but  the  results  justified  the  wisdom  of  the  step.  The  atten- 
dance of  students  in  regular  classes  steadily  increased  and 
marked  improvement  in  the  standards  of  scholarship  was 
soon  apparent. 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892. 
tSec.  of  State,  1892. 


42  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

In  1886  a  short  course  in  agriculture  was  established, 
which  has  been  very  successful.  In  1888  a  chair  of  agri- 
cultural physics  Avas  established — the  first  chair  in  any  uni- 
versity, so  far  as  known,  with  this  specific  title* — another  of 
the  new  departures  in  education  which  have  added  to  Wis- 
consin's renown.  At  the  same  time  was  established  a  chair 
of  experimental  and  comparative  psychology,  with  its  own 
laboratory — a  chair  till  then  established  in  only  one  collegi- 
ate institution,  the  college  of  France.  The  university  also 
affiliated  itself  more  closely  with  the  normal  schools  by  so 
arranging  two  special  courses  that  normal  graduates  could 
finish  them  in  two  years,  being  admitted  on  their  diplomas 
without  examination.  In  this  year  nine  fellowships  were 
established,  and  the  degree  of  doctor  of  philosophy  was  of- 
fered for  the  successful  completion  of  three  years'  prescribed 
study.  Pre-legal  and  pre-journalistic  courses  were  established, 
also  a  pre-medical  course. 

In  1887  a  summer  school  of  science  for  teachers  was 
established  in  connection  with  the  university.  It  is  held  in 
the  summer  vacation,  lasting  four  weeks,  and  offers  twenty 
courses  of  instruction  in  psychology,  pedagogy,  physiology, 
zoology,  chemistry,  botany,  geography,  literature  and  phys- 
ics. The  attendance  at  the  first  session  was  40,  which  in- 
creased to  132  in  1890,  and  191  in  1892. 

The  faa-mers'  institutes,  begun  in  1886,  have  been  a  most 
interesting  and  successful  feature  of  the  university  work. 
They  are  in  charge  of  a  competent  superintendent,  aided  by 
an  efficient  force  of  special  conductors ;  and  they  have  at- 
tained a  wide  and  excellent  reputation  throughout  the  Union. 
Last  year  61  of  these  institutes  were  held,  with  an  estimated 
attendance  of  30,000  persons.  In  this  connection  may  be 
mentioned  the  valuable  work  done  at  the  agricultural  ex- 
periment station  in  ascertaining  the  values  of  different  foods 
for  cattle  ;  in  the  discovery  of  fibrine  in  milk,  and  its  effects 
in  the  changes  and  handling  of  milk  ;  in  the  physics  of  soil ; 
in  the  improvement  of  fruits  by  systematic  pollenization,  etc. 

The  most  notable,  perhaps,  of  the  advance  movements 
made  by  the  university  is  the  establishment,  in  September, 
1892,  of  the  school  of  history,  political  science,  and  econom- 
ics. These  branches  had  been  taught  more  or  less  in  con- 
nection with  other  departments,  bi^t  their  importance  was 
now  duly  recognized,  and  they  were  given  a  distinct  and 


*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1888,  p.  45. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  43 

honorable  position.  This  school  was  placed  in  charge  of  Dr. 
R.  T.  Ely,  of  Johns  Hopkins  university,  a  well-known  and 
progressive  economist,  with  whom  were  associated  a  compe- 
tent and  experienced  corps  of  professors.  A  large  number 
of  post-graduate  students  entered  the  school,  and  are  pursu- 
ing advanced  studies  and  original  investigations  which  prom- 
ise to  reflect  great  honor  on  the  university.  Though  so  re- 
cent, the  school  is  already  past  the  experimental  stage,  and 
without  doubt  will  justify  its  establishment  and  advance 
Wisconsin  still  higher  in  the  educational  world. 

Almost  equally  important  is  the  university  extension 
movement,  which  was  inaugurated,  in  the  region  west  of  the 
Alleghanies,  by  Wisconsin  in  1891.  Requests  were  received 
for  107  courses  in  the  first  year,  but  only  50  could  be  sup- 
plied by  the  university.  It  was  estimated  that  8,500  persons 
attended  these  lectures,  and  examinations  were  taken  by  127, 
of  whom  93  passed.  This  year  the  force  of  extension  lectur- 
ers has  been  increased,  and  53  courses  are  being  given, 
some  of  them  in  cities  outside  the  state. 

The  number  of  students  attending  the  university  has 
steadily,  and  during  the  last  five  years  rapidly,  increased. 
In  1866  there  were  201  students,  including  the  preparatory 
department,  besides  128  ladies  in  the  normal  department. 
In  1876  there  were  but  295,  including  the  preparatory  de- 
partment. In  1886  the  number  had  risen'to  443,  in  1890  to 
790,  and  in  1892  to  about  1,300. 

The  number  of  resident  graduates  has  increased  from 
four  in  1888  to  forty-one  at  the  present  time.  Since  1854 
the  university  has  graduated  2,097  students. 

VII. NORMAL  SCHOOLS  AND  TEACHERS'  INSTITUTES. 

The  need  of  normal  instruction  for  teachers  was  felt 
very  early  in  the  history  of  our  common  schools.  In  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1846  an  amendment  to  Section 
2,  providing  that  "  until  a  university  be  established,  the  net 
income  of  the  university  lands  shall  be  appropriated  to  the 
support  of  normal  schools,"  was  lost  only  by  a  close  vote,  48 
to  51.*  But  in  the  constitution  adopted  in  1848,  definite 
provision  was  made  for  the  support  of  normal  schools  by  the 
school  fund.  The  exigencies  of  the  common  schools  at  first 
absorbed  all  the  income  from  this  fund  ;  and  the  attempt  to 
give  normal  instruction  in  the  universit}'  failed  for  lack  of 
means. 


*Journal  Const.  Conven.,  18-W). 


44  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

During  several  years  the  subject  was  discussed  among 
educators,  and  efforts  were  made  to  supply  the  urgent  need  of 
teachers  for  instruction  by  the  establishment  of  institutes.  The 
first  mention  of  these  occurs  in  the  first  annual  report  of  the 
state  superintendent  for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1849. 
The  superintendent,  Rev.  E.  Root,  recommended  that  these 
institutes — "  temporary  normal  schools,"  as  lie  called  them — 
should  be  established  and  supported  by  the  state,  as  they 
had  already  been  in  Massachusetts,  New  York  and  other 
states.  In  support  of  this  recommendation  he  also  urged 
the  fact  that  "  during  the  past  year  voluntary  associations  of 
the  kind  had  been  formed  in  every  county  of  the  stat€  except 
five.*  In  his  report  for  the  following  year,  1850,  Mr.  Root 
mentioned  his  attendance  at  "  institutes  for  the  instruction  of 
teachers,  that  were  held  in  the  counties  of  Grant,  Rock  and 
Jefferson.  About  120  pupils  in  all  were  present  at  these  in- 
stitutes, and  were  instructed  for  several  days  successively  by 
persons  of  experience  and  ability,  in  the  various  duties  per- 
taining to  the  teacher's  profession."  The  superintendent 
then  urged  the  great  need  of  normal  instruction  for  the 
teachers  of  the  state,  and  asked  the  legislature  to  "  aid  the 
regents  of  the  university  in  completing  the  building  already 
begun,  and  to  appropriate  from  the  school  fund  a  sufficient 
sum  to  defray  the  expenses  of  normal  instruction  there- 
in."t 

The  next  superintendent,  Azel  P.  Ladd,  secured  in  1852 
the  passage  of  a  bill  through  one  branch  of  the  legislature, 
giving  state  aid  to  the  teachers'  institutes,  but  it  failed  in  the 
other  house.  He  made  the  same  attempt  the  next  year,  but 
again  without  success.  During  both  years,  however,  he 
held  institutes  in  seventeen-  counties,  lasting  one  to  two 
weeks.  At  some  of  these  nearly  80  teachers  were  in  attend- 
ance, and  it  became  necessary  to  employ  two  or  three 
assistant  instructors.  The  expenses  of  these  institutes  were 
borne  by  the  teachers,  aided  by  public-spirited  citizens.^ 

The  state  teachers'  association  was  organized  at 
Madison,  July  12,  1853.  This  body  might  have  been  ex- 
pected to  exert  a  powerful  influence  in  obtaining  systematic 
normal  instruction  for  the  teachers  of  Wisconsin ;  but  it 
seems  to  have  taken  no  definite  action  toward  this  end  until 
1858.     At  the  meeting  for  that  year,  a  committee  reported  a 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1849,  p.  6.57. 
tSiipt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1850,  pp.  895,  923. 
tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1852,  p.  20. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  45 

"plan  of  normal  instruction,"  which  included  provision  for 
both  normal  schools  and  institutes. 

Meanwhile,  in  1851,  the  university  regents  made  another 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  open  the  normal  department  of  that 
institution.  Not  until  1856  were  they  able  to  do  anything. 
Professor  Read's  course  of  lectures  on  the  art  of  teaching, 
given  in  that  year,  were  attended  by  18  student^  and,  in  the 
following  year,  by  28.  A  bill  for  normal  instruction  and 
teachers'  institutes  failed  to  pass  the  senate  in  1856. 

About  this  time  the  popular  dissatisfaction  with  the 
university,  before  alluded  to,  led  to  an  attempt  on  the  part 
of  the  corporate  colleges  and  academies  to  secure  a  share  of 
the  university  fund.  This  proved  unsuccessful ;  for  the 
lands  had  been  so  granted  by  the  United  States  that  they 
could  not  be  diverted  to  any  other  use  than  that  of  the  uni- 
versity. Failing  here,  they  laid  siege  to  the  swamp  land 
fund. 

This  fund  was  a  large  one,  arising  from  the  proceeds  of 
swamp  land  sales.  By  act  of  Congress,  approved  Septem- 
ber 28,  1850,  all  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  then  unsold 
within  Arkansas  were  granted  to  that  state,  all  proceeds  of 
the  lands  "  to  be  exclusively  applied,  as  far  as  necessary,  to 
the  purpose  of  reclaiming  said  lands  by  means  of  levees  and 
drains."*  The  fourth  section  extended  its  benefits  and 
provisions  to  each  of  the  other  states  of  the  Union  in  which 
such  swamp  and  overflowed  land  might  be  situated.  Under 
this  act  the  state  of  Wisconsin  received  large  quantities  of 
land. 

In  the  summer  of  1851  the  United  States  surveyors 
located  and  assigned  to  the  state  1,350,610  acres,  t  In  1860 
the  Federal  land  office  certified  and  assigned  to  Wisconsin 
548,650.09  acres;  in  1867,  '  721,831.62  acres;  in  1870, 
131,006.33  acres ;  in  1881,  368,985  acres ;  in  1882,  412,035 
acres  ;|  and  in  various  years  other  smaller  amounts,  aggre- 
gating up  to  this  time  (1892)  nearly  four  millions  of  acres. 

In  regard  to  the  management  of  this  fund,  the  record  is 
somewhat  more  satisfactory  than  that  of  the  school  and 
university  funds.  During  the  first  few  years,  it  is  true,  the 
same  reckless  and  wasteful  methods  of  sale,  and  of  invest- 
ment of  the  proceeds,  prevailed  ;  but  while  the  more  valu- 

*Pub.  Laws,  U.  S.  A.,  Ist  sesg.  3l8t  Cong.,  p.  519,  (little  &  Brown). 
fRep.  Com.  Gen.  Land  Office,  1851,  p.  7o,  (Ex.  Doc,  32d  Cong. 
Vol.  III.). 

JLand  Com.  of  Wis.,  1860,  p.  37  ;  1868,  p.  2  ;  1870,  p.  2  ;  etc. 


46  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

able  school  and  university  lands  were  in  the  market,  specu- 
lators found  but  little  temptation  to  invest  in  swamp  lands. 
Large  quantities  of  the  latter  were,  therefore,  not  even 
offered  for  sale  until  a  more  appreciative  and  conscientious 
policy  in  regard  to  its  trust  funds  was  pursued  by  the  state. 
The  act  of  1857,  too,  rescued  this  fund  from  various  possi- 
bilities of  foliation  that  otherwise  would  have  largely 
depreciated  its  value.  The  greatest  injury  to  it,  also  the 
cause,  to  some  extent,  of  depreciation  in  the  school  and 
university  funds,  arose  from  the  enormous  number  of  for- 
feited titles  accumulating  from  year  to  year,  owing  to  non- 
payment of  taxes,  or  of  the  mortgages  held  by  the  state  on 
lands  sold  on  credit.  One  reason  for  this  was  the  foolish 
and  reckless  way  in  which  the  sales  of  lands  were  man- 
aged ;  another  was  the  excessive  taxation  imposed  by  coun- 
ties on  non-resident  land-owners,  who  often  preferred  to 
lose  the  lands  rather  than  pay  enormous  taxes.  The  land 
commissioners,  in  1861,  judged  that  "at  least  25  per  cent,  of 
that  portion  of  the  trust  funds  now  invested  in  mortgages  is 
irretrievably  lost.  Every  year  a  large  portion  of  the  lands 
purchased  from  the  state  on  credit,  and  lands  mortgaged  to 
the  state  as  security  for  loans,  is  forfeited,  sold,  and  bid  in  by 
the  state,  in  default  of  other  bidders."  "  By  law  these  lands 
cannot  be  re-sold  unless  the  original  amount  remaining 
unpaid  from  the  first  sale,  with  all  the  taxes,  interest,  pen- 
alties, expenses  of  advertising,  etc.,  that  have  accumulated 
against  the  land,  can  be  obtained.  Purchasers  cannot  be 
found  for  many  of  them  at  such  prices,  and  they  remain  a 
dead  weight  upon  the  state,  yielding  no  income  to  its  funds, 
paying  no  taxes,  and  a  clog  upon  the  settlement  of  the 
counties  in  which  they  are  located."*  At  first  the  excessive 
taxes  levied  against  non-resident  holders  of  state  lands  were 
credited  to  the  counties,  whether  paid  or  not ;  but  an  act 
passed  in  1860t  credited  these  taxes  to  the  counties  only 
when  actually  paid,  and  thus  checked  this  abuse. 

The  report  of  the  land  commissioners  in  1861  shows 
that  the  state  then  held  754,596  acres  of  forfeited  lands 
belonging  to  the  trust  funds,  of  which  455,504  acres  were 
swamp  lands.  The  amount  had  increased  in  1864  to 
1,111,008  acres,  of  which  637,351  acres  were  swamp  lands. 
Better  methods  of  managing  the  trust  funds  began  to  pre- 
vail about  this  time,  and  the  amounts   of  forfeited  lands 

*I^nd  Com.,  1860,  p.  37. 
tLaws,  1860,  Ch.  306. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  47 

have  steadily  decreased,  especially  since  the  rapid  growth 
of  population  in  northern  Wisconsin  has  so  increased  the 
demand  for  all  lands  available  for  use. 

The  swamp  land  fund  on  hand  December  31,  1856,  was 
$52,908.32,  the  income  of  which  seemed  a  desirable  addition 
to  the  usually  slender  resources  of  the  colleges  and  acade- 
mies. Mainly  through  the  efforts  of  a  college  "  lobby,"  an  act 
was  passed  by  the  legislature  in  March,  1857,  "for  the 
encouragement  of  academies  and  normal  schools."*  This  act 
set  apart,  for  the  purpose  specified  in  its  title,  one-fourth  of 
the  gross  proceeds  of  the  swamp  lands  granted  to  Wisconsin 
in  1850,  and  established  a  board  of  regents,  by  whom  this 
income  was  to  be  distributed  to  the  schools. 

During  the  nine  months  from  January  1  to  September 
30,  1857,  the  sales  of  swamp  lands  amounted  to  865,630 
acres,  appraised  at  a  minimum  priceof  $1.25,  but  realizing  in 
most  cases  some  15  per  cent,  advance  on  this.  Of  the  above 
sales,  173,037  acres  were  pre-emptions,  at  $1.25  an  acre.  The 
net  proceeds  of  all  these  sales  amounted  to  $361,570.19,  one- 
half  of  which  sum  was  transferred  to  the  school  fund,  and  one- 
fourth  to  the  normal  school  fund,  the  remaining  fourth  being 
credited  to  the  drainage  fund.  The  income  of  the  normal 
fund  in  that  year  was  $20,661.18.t 

The  colleges  and  academies,  and  afterward  the  high 
schools,  thus  secured  state  aid  to  their  "normal"  depart- 
ments. This  system  continued  until  1865,  but  was  in  most 
cases  unsatisfactory.  The  work  done  was  often  only 
academic  in  character,  and  not  thorough  in  quality.  In 
1864  one  college,  four  academies,  and  three  high  schools  re- 
ported to  the  board  of  normal  regents,  claiming  154 
pupils  who  pursued  normal  studies ;  but  the  examinations 
of  the  board  were  passed  by  only  36  of  these  pupils,  for 
whom  the  institutions  received  $30  each  from  the  state 
fund.l 

The  normal  regents  were  authorized  in  1859  to  employ 
an  agent  who  should  not  only  exercise  supervisory  control 
over  the  academic  normal  work,  but  should,  in  co-operation 
with  the  state  superintendent,  conduct  teachers'  institutes 
and  give  instruction  therein.  The  necessary  expenses  of 
this  agency  were  annually  appropriated  out  of  the  normal 
fund  income.     Part  of  this  income  (which  between  1857  and 

*Law8,  18.57,  Ch.  82. 

tLand  Com.,  Wis.,  1857,  pp.  4-13. 

tSalisbury's  Norm.  Sch.  System  in  "Wis.,  p.  30. 


48  GENERAL    SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

1865  varied  from  $3,000  to  $10,000  a  year)  was  also  expended 
for  teachers'  institutes. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  1863,  a  normal  class  of 
twenty  members  was  organized  at  Hudson,  in  connection 
with  the  highest  department  of  the  city  schools,  under  the 
direction  of  Miss  Charlotte  Mann,  a  graduate  of  Antioch 
College  and  a  niece  of  Hon.  Horace  ISIann.  For  several 
years  this  class  supplied  to  the  surrounding  towns  many  of 
the  most  successful  teachers  in  St.  Croix  count}^* 

The  defects  of  normal  instruction  in  the  academies,  the 
urgent  necessity  for  increasing  the  educational  qualifications 
of  teachers  throughout  the  state,  and  the  need  for  perma- 
nent and  advantageous  investment  of  the  rapidly  increasing 
swamp  land  fund — all  these  were  strong  reasons  for  chang- 
ing the  policy  of  the  state  in  regard  to  normal  schools. 
That  policy  was  seen  by  successive  state  superintendents  to 
be  defective  and  unwise,  and  they  openly  and  forcibly 
opposed  it.  They  also  felt  that  the  normal  department  of 
the  university,  which  had  been  opened  in  1863,  was  inade- 
quate, and  that  only  exclusively  normal  and  professional 
schools  could  supply  the  needs  of  the  state. 

The  friends  of  a  normal  system  availed  themselves  of 
this  favorable  concurrence  of  circumstances,  and  in  1865 
secured  the  passage  of  a  bill  making  liberal  endowment  for 
distinctively  normal  schools.f  This  act  allotted  to  the  nor- 
mal fund  the  productive  part  of  the  swamp  land  fund,  then 
amounting  to  $594,581.87 — and  additional  lands,  estimated 
at  $1  an  acre,  which  increased  the  total  value  of  the  fund  to 
$1, 109,427. 06.|  The  normal  regents  had  now  at  their  dis- 
posal a  yearly  income  of  over  $30,000,  with  a  certain  increase 
as  fast  as  the  lands  should  be  sold. 

The  regents  were  thus  enabled  to  establish  normal 
schools  without  further  delay,  and  they  planned  to  locate  a 
school  in  each  of  the  congressional  districts  of  the  state. 
Proposals  were  made  to  the  board  from  sixteen  cities  and 
villages,  and  from  these  were  selected  Whitewater  and 
Platteville.  The  latter  school  was  opened  October  9,  1866, 
and  had  a  total  attendance  of  219  students  during  its  first 
year.  The  school  at  Whitewater  was  opened  April  21, 1868  ; 
that  at  Oshkosh,  September  12,  1871 ;  at  River  Falls,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1875;  and  at  Milwaukee,  September  14,  1885. 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1863,  p.  63. 

tLaws  1865,  Ch.  537. 

JLand  Com.  Wis.,  1865,  p.  339. 


fe^ 


Supe^ntcn^ent  IRobcrt  (Brabam. 

Superintendent  Robert  Gniham  was  born  of  Scotch  i)arents 
July  24,  1826,  in  Washington  county,  N.  Y.  He  began  his 
career  as  a  teacher  in  his  eighteenth  year.  After  a  few  terms  of 
experience,  he  met  David  P.  Page  in  the  normal  school  at  Al- 
bany, and  was  influenced  by  the  inspiring  qualities  of  that  gi-eat 
educator.  Though  not  a  full  graduate  of  that  school,  he  im- 
bibed a  large  share  of  the  early  spirit  of  that  institution. 

After  serving  some  terms  as  teacher  and  superintendent  in 
his  native  state,  he  came  to  Wisconsin  in  1861,  intending  to 
enter  other  lines  of  employment.  But  his  reputation  as  teacher, 
combined  with  the  dominant  trend  of  his  nature,  soon  brought 
him  into  the  school-room  at  Kenosha,  where  his  reputation  for 
great  stimulating  power  with  youth  was  well  established.  In 
1864  he  enlisted  and  was  chosen  captain  by  his  comrades.  At 
the  close  of  the  war,  he  was  elected  county  superintendent  of 
Kenosha  county,  where  he  demonstrated  the  great  possibilities 
of  the  system  when  wielded  by  high  educational  ideals.  The 
spirit  of  Superintendent  Graham  is  manifest  in  the  schools  of 
that  county  to  this  day.  Teachers'  associations  were  formed, 
institutes  held  for  work  and  investigation  rather  than  for  enter- 
tainment ;  the  stalwart  yeomanry  were  enlisted  in  the  cause, 
and,  in  most  districts,  only  teachers  ready  and  able  to  grow  in 
the  profession  were  welcomed  to  the  schools. 

When  the  board  of  regents  of  normal  schools  first  inaugu- 
rated a  system  of  county  institutes  throughout  the  state,  in  1873, 
Mr.  Graham  was  chosen  as  the  first  conductor,  and  almost 
every  county  of  Wisconsin  was  visited  by  him  in  that  capacity. 

At  the  organization  of  the  Oshkosh  normal  school  faculty, 
in  1871,  Mr.  Graham  was  the  first  selection  made  after  that  of 
president,  because  of  his  wide  experience  and  great  abilities. 
After  a  service  of  ten  years  as  teacher  in  that  school,  during 
which  time  many  progressive  steps  were  taken  which  have  be- 
come stamped  upon  our  system,  he  was  elected  state  superin- 
tendent, which  office  he  held  five  years.  During  his  adminis- 
tration, the  system  of  institutes  for  city  systems,  as  well  as  for 
teachers  of  rural  schools,  was  inaugurated  with  great  success, 
and  he  left  office  with  a  system  more  firmly  co-ordinated  for  the 
marked  advances  since  accomplished. 

Ever  unassuming  in  demeanor,  his  high  ideals  often  made 
him  impatient  of  the  weakness  rife  in  untaught  and  ill-trained 
youth  who  swarmed  to  the  teacher's  calling,  devoid  of  adequate 
convictions  upon  any  element  of  the  work.  Yet  he  never  re- 
laxed his  efforts,  and  that  the  system  of  teachers'  institutes  owes 
much  to  Robert  Graham- must  be  the  verdict  of  those  who  have 
known  the  beginning  and  have  traced  the  development.  His 
spirit  of  earnest  work  and  investigation,  impressed  lor  a  genera- 
tion, may  never  be  recognized  by  those  who  are  to  work  here- 
after, but  the  spirit  will  persist  through  the  multitude  whom 
he  trained. 

G.  S.  A. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  49 

In  the  autumn  of  1871,  an  institute  course  of  six  weeks 
was  experimentally  adopted  in  the  first  three  normal  schools, 
but  it  proved  unsuccessful,  and  was  discontinued  after  the 
second  year.  In  1874  the  regents,  while  retaining  the  two 
courses  of  study,  the  elementary  and  the  advanced,  increased 
the  latter  from  three  to  four  years. 

A  law  of  1867  authorized  the  regents  to  spend  $5,000 
annually  for  teachers'  institutes,  which  sum  was  increased 
to  $6,000  in  1891 ;  and  district  boards  were  permitted  to  allow 
teachers  to  attend  these  institutes  without  losing  the  time 
from  their  schools.  Under  the  act  of  1871,  before  referred  to, 
more  extensive  work  in  this  direction  was  begun  in  the 
form  of  a  series  of  "normal  institutes,"  each  lasting  four 
weeks  or  more.  As  the  needs  of  the  work  became  more 
pressing,  it  was  in  1873  further  enlarged  and  systematized. 
The  state  was  divided  into  districts,  and  a  conductor  perma- 
nently detailed  from  each  of  the  normal  school  faculties  to 
conduct  the  institute  work.  In  July,  1873,  an  institute  was 
held  for  these  conductors,  which  is  thought  to  be  the  first 
meeting  of  this  kind  ever  convened.  As  a  result  of  this 
meeting,  a  syllabus  or  course  of  study  for  normal  institutes 
was  adopted,  which  is  revised  from  year  to  year  by  the  an- 
nual conductors'  meeting.* 

About  this  time  arose  among  Wisconsin  educators  a 
wide  interest  in  the  kindergarten  system,  and  it  was  pro- 
posed to  introduce  it  in  the  work  of  the  normal  schools. 
After  several  years'  discussion,  the  experiment  was  made; 
and  in  the  Oshkosh  school  was  opened,  in  May,  1880,  the 
first  kindergarten  officially  and  directly  connected  with  any 
state  normal  school  in  the  United  States.f  This  was  soon 
followed  by  similar  departments  in  the  Platteville  school  and 
in  the  normal  department  of  the  Milwaukee  high  school. 

In  1886  four  institutes  were  held  especially  for  the  benefiit 
of  teachers  in  the  graded  schools.  Much  interest  was 
evinced,  and  this  feature  of  the  work  has  been  continued 
since  then,  under  charge  of  a  special  institute  conductor. 
By  an  act  of  1885,  Prof.  J.  \V.  Stearns,  of  the  university, 
has  since  filled  an  institute  lectureship,  giving  each  year 
thirty  or  forty  public  lectures  in  connection  with  the 
teachers'  institutes.  The  regular  work  of  the  institutes  has 
been  largely  based  on  the  "Manual  of  Elementary  Instruc- 
tion  for  Common   Schools   in   Wisconsin ;"    and   has    also 

*Sali8bury,  pp.  85-8(i. 

tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1880,  p.  133. 


50  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

included  academic  work  in  physiology  and  hygiene,  United 
States  constitution,  etc. 

These  institutes  reach  nearly  all  the  teachers,  in  most 
of  the  counties.  The  nuipber  of  teachers  attending  the 
■  institutes  in  1870,  was  1,834 ;  in  1880,  it  was  4,443  ;  in  1890, 
it  had  increased  to  7,514.  The  number  at  single  institutes 
sometimes  reaches  200.  As  the  attendance  is  entirely  volun- 
tary, it  indicates  a  real  interest  in  this  work,  and  devotion 
to  the  cause  of  education.  The  long  institute  terms  once  in 
vogue  are  now  replaced  by  short  ones,  usually  lasting  five 
days. 

The  legislature  of  1891,  by  an  act  approved  May  9, 
authorized  the  establishment  of  a  sixth  normal  school,  to  be 
located  north  of  the  north  line  of  township  24  north. 

Besides  the  regular  income  of  the  normal  school  fund, 
a  permanent  appropriation  has  been  made  by  the  state, 
since  1871,  of  $2,000  yearly  for  the  partial  support  of  teach- 
ers' institutes.  Since  the  opening  of  the  Milwaukee  normal 
school,  in  1885,  the  state  has  annually  appropriated  §10,000 
toward  its  expenses.  Special  appropriations  have  also  been 
made  at  various  times,  and  the  cities  in  which  the  five  nor- 
mal schools  are  located  have  given,  including  sites  and 
buildings,  nearly  $200,000.  The  refunding  of  the  United 
States  direct  war  tax,  in  1891,  already  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  common  school  fund,  was  a  material  addi- 
tion to  the  resources  of  the  normal  schools.  To  the  fund  it- 
self was  added  $70,939.03 ;  and  the  income  for  that  year 
was  increased  by  $44,748.91.* 

The  productive  normal  school  fund  is  now  valued  at 
$1,774,375.42  ;  and  its  income  the  past  year  was  $136,319.08, 
to  which  must  be  added  $13,517.05  in  tuition  fees,  etc.,  and 
$32,000  from  tax  levies  authorized  by  previous  laws.  The 
lands  yet  unsold  amount  to  239,004.67  acres,  valued  at  from 
50  cents  to  $3  an  acre,  and  are  an  important  resource  for  the 
future  increase  of  the  fund.f 

The  work  and  influence  of  the  normal  schools  are  well 
characterized  by  the  state  superintendent,  in  the  following 
words  :| 

' '  The  normal  schools  of  the  state  are  the  source  from  which 
large  numbers  of  teachers  for  the  common  schools  are  annually 
drawn.     The  instruction  in  public  schools  has  been  greatly  im- 

*Sec.  of  State,  1892. 

tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892  :  Sec.  of  State,  1892. 

jSupt.  Pub.  Instr.  1890,  p.  67. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  51 

proved,  and  their  entire  work  and  influence  materially  increased 
in  effectiveness  and  value,  by  the  introduction  of  specially 
trained  teachers.  Not  only  by  their  direct  labors  in  the  school- 
rooms, but  by  their  direct  influence  in  the  community,  in 
teachers'  associations  and  institutes,  has  the  standard  for  teachers' 
qualifications  been  elevated.  Neither  can  the  value  of  the  nor- 
mal schools  be  measured  by  the  number  of  their  graduates  or 
important  positions  held  by  them.  The  large  number  of  under- 
graduates, who  annually  engage  in  teaching,  contribute  no 
inconsiderable  measure  of  this  value." 

The  normal  schools  have  steadily  advanced  their  re- 
quirements, both  for  admission  and  graduation ;  and  they 
have  attained  an  enviable  standard  of  thoroughness  and 
efficiency  in  their  line  of  work.  The  following  statistics  for 
1892*  emphasize  these  statements: 

Number  of  normal  school  graduates  employed  as 
teachers,  620. 

Number  of  normal  school  non-graduates  employed  as 
teachers,  1,684. 

Normal  school  diplomas  countersigned  for  state  certifi- 
cates in  1892,  71. 

VIII. — SUPERVISION  OF  SCHOOLS. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  difficulties  arising  from 
the  old  system  of  town  commissioners — irresponsible,  and 
lacking  in  uniformity  and  permanency.  It  was  soon  felt  by 
many  that  one  town  superintendent  would  be  more  respon- 
sible and  efficient  than  the  three  commissioners ;  and  in  sev- 
eral localities  the  idea  of  a  state  superintendent  was  also 
advanced.  As  early  as  1841,  the  legislature  received  a  peti- 
tion from  many  prominent  citizens  of  Racine  county,  asking 
for  the  creation  of  such  an  office  ;  and  similar  requests  were 
made  at  subsequent  sessions.  In  1846,  a  bill  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  state  superintendent  of  schools  passed  the  assembly, 
but  was  defeated  in  the  council,  where  it  received  only  three 
votes  out  of  thirteen, t — a  vote  which  one  may  charitably 
suppose  was  caused  by  the  near  approach  of  state  organiza- 
tion. The  constitution  of  1848  created  the  office  of  state 
superintendent,  and  the  statutes  of  the  following  year  pro- 
vided for  the  election  of  town  superintendents  ;  and  the  real 
efficiency  of  the  public  schools  dates  from  that  time.  The 
men  elected  to  the  office  of  state  superintendent  were,  as  a 
rule,  able  and  experienced,  and  devoted  to  the  interests  of 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892.  * 

tStrong,  p.  498. 


52  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

the  public  schools.  They  visited  the  several  counties,  organ- 
ized the  teachers,  and  directed  their  work  ;  they  watched  the 
management  of  the  school  funds,  and  reported  its  deficiencies 
and  needs ;  they  did  much  to  obtain  better  legislation,  and 
they  gradually  secured  more  uniform  and  systematic  work 
in  the  schools  of  the  state,  and  higher  standards  of  qualifica- 
tion in  the  teachers. 

In  1854  the  state  superintendent  was  authorized  to  ap- 
point an  assistant  superintendent ;  and  since  1856  he  has 
received  an  allowance  from  the  state  for  clerical  work  neces- 
sary in  his  office.  He  is,  ex-officio,  a  member  of  the  boards 
of  university  and  normal  regents,  and  was  secretary  of  the 
latter  board  from  1866  to  1870. 

Difficulties  soon  arose  between  the  state  and  town  super- 
intendents. Complaint  was  made  in  1853  that  the  law  em- 
powered the  state  superintendent  to  decide  disputed  ques- 
tions, but  not  to  enforce  his  decisions.  An  especial  source  of 
trouble  was  "the  division  and  formation  of  school  districts, 
which  should  be  referred  to  the  boards  of  town  supervisors." 
The  town  superintendents  were  clothed  with  too  great  power, 
for  the  exercise  of  which  they  were  not  responsible  to  the 
state  superintendent — especially  in  granting  certificates  to 
teachers,  and  in  apportioning  the  scliool  money  among  the 
districts.  They  were  also,  in  too  many  cases,  inefficient  or  in- 
competent, and  many  schools  were  sadly  neglected.*  The 
state  superintendent  in  1855  recommended  to  the  legislature 
the  creation  of  county  superintendents ;  and  in  the  following 
3'ear  he  asked  for  the  appointment  of  city  superintendents 
who  should  be  under  his  direction.  The  necessity  for  some 
change  in  the  system  was  emphasized  by  the  complaint  of 
the  same  official  in  1859  that  town  clerks  and  superintend- 
ents defied  his  decisions  and  refused  to  obey  them ;  and  in 
1860  he  declared  the  inspection  of  teachers  and  schools  to  be 
nearly  worthless. 

These  measures  were  advocated  from  year  to  year  by 
successive  state  superintendents ;  but  no  action  was  taken  by 
the  legislature  until  1861.  An  act  was  then  passed,  estab- 
lishing the  office  of  county  superintendent,  who  should  ex- 
amine and  license  teachers,  and  visit  and  inspect  the  schools. 
Other  duties  of  the  former  town  superintendent  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  town  clerk  and  supervisors.  The  county  super- 
intendent was  also  to  conduct  at  least  one  institute  each  year 
for  the  instruction  of  teachers^ 
*Siiipt.  of  Pub.  Instr..  ]85;3-o5. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  53 

On  the  whole,  the  establishment  of  the  county  superin- 
tendency  was  a  blessing  to  the  schools,  which  received  much 
better  supervision  and  attention  to  their  needs  than  under 
the  old  system.  There  has  been  more  or  less  dissatisfaction 
with  the  plan  at  various  times,  and  especially  during  the 
last  two  years,  but  the  reasons  for  this  are  not  largely  inher- 
ent in  the  system.  Probably  the  main  cause  is  in  the  par- 
simony of  mam^  counties  in  paying  too  small  salaries  to  their 
superintendents.  In  1866  the  average  salary  of  county 
superintendents  in  this  state  was  only  $536  a  year.  In  1890 
this  average  had  increased  to  $788 ;  and  an  additional  allow- 
ance is  made,  in  all  but  four  counties,  for  stationery,  etc. 
Even  this  advance,  however,  is  a  quite  inadequate  return  for 
the  hard  work  required  of  a  county  superintendent,  especially 
with  the  present  high  standards  of  work  and  qualifications 
required  in  the  common  schools.  The  salaries  given  in  dif- 
ferent counties  are  also  very  unequal  and  disproportionate, 
in  view  of  the  amount  of  work  to  be  done  therein.  For  in- 
stance, Grant  county,  Avith  272  teachers,  pavs  its  superinten- 
dent $1,000;  while  Ashland  county,  with  only  40  teachers, 
pays  $1,200.  Adams  county,  with  69  teachers,  pays  but  $500, 
and  allows  only  $40  additional ;  Green  Lake,  77  teachers, 
pays  $800,  and  allows  $150  extra.  Marinette,  37  teachers, 
pays  $800,  and  allows  actual  expenses  ;  while  Oconto,  next 
adjacent,  with  58  teachers,  pays  but  $500,  and  allows 
$100.* 

This  inadequate  system  of  compensation  has  naturally 
led  to  short  terms  of  office,  especially  in  connection  with  the 
fact  that  no  qualifications  are  required  by  law  for  this  office, 
which  is  therefore  frequentlv  vacated  for  more  remunerative 
positions,  and  always  liable  to  be  affected  by  political  influ- 
ence. The  state  teachers'  association  in  1876  recommended 
that  the  county  superintendent  be  recjuired  to  hold  a  state 
certificate,  equivalent  to  a  first  grade  county  certificate ;  but, 
like  many  other  excellent  and  practical  suggestions  of  the 
association,  this  remained  unheeded.  There  is  still  the 
lack  of  proper  qualification  for  this  office  ;  and  some  super- 
intendents are  negligent  and  inefficient  in  performing  their 
duties.  There  are  also  too  many  schools  under  the  care  of 
one  superintendent ;  and  only  two  counties,  Dane  and  Rock, 
have  each  two  districts  and  two  superintendents.  It  is  felt 
by  many  educators  that  some»change  should  be  made  in  the 


*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1890,  pp.  114-15. 


54  GENERAL   SKETCH  OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

county  system,  by  which  more  effective  supervision  of  the 
schools  may  be  secured. 

The  county  superintendency  soon  proved  inadequate  to 
the  needs  of  cities  and  large  villages,  which  have  generally 
adopted  a  system  of  independent  supervision.  This  plan 
was  inaugurated  by  Kenosha  as  early  as  1845;  but  after 
state  organization  other  cities  followed  her  example.  For 
many  years  their  schools  were  not  directly  under  state  super- 
vision, and  tli,eir  charters  of  incorporation  usually  left  edu- 
cational matters  to  the  discretion  of  city  authorities.  It  was 
frequently  necessary  to  amend  these  charters,  in  conse- 
quence, by  making  definite  provision  for  the  management  of 
schools,  and  in  such  cases  the  duties  and  liabilities  of  city 
superintendents  were  prescribed  as  similar  to  those  of  town 
superintendents. 

In  1863  cities  were  allowed  to  exempt  themselves  from 
the  control  of  county  superintendents,  except  in  making 
annual  reports;  and  in  1870*  their  boards  of  education  were 
required  to  make  annual  reports  to  the  state  superintendent. 
These  boards  are  usually  composed  of  one  or  two  commis- 
sioners from  each  ward,  and  a  superintendent,  who  may  be 
the  president  or  secretary  of  the  board,  and  sometimes  is  the 
principal  of  the  high  school.  The  system  has  worked  well, 
in  general,  and  the  schools  of  the  cities  have  attained  a 
high  degree  of  efficiency  and  thoroughness. 

IX. DISTRICT   AND   TOWNSHIP    SYSTEMS,    AND    INDEPENDENT 

CITIES. 

The  independent  district  has,  from  the  first,  been  the 
unit  of  Wisconsin  school  government,  and  the  plan  came 
from  the  East  with  the  early  settlers  of  the  territory.  It  is 
often  supposed  that  this  plan  was  universal  in  New  England ; 
but,  in  reality,  it  was  only  an  intruder  on  the  town  system. 
Massachusetts,  the  dean  of  the  states  in  educational  matters, 
passed  a  law  in  1647  making  "  the  support  of  schools  com- 
pulsory, and  education  both  universal  and  free."  This  law 
provided  that  every  town  containing  fift}'  households 
should  have  a  school  for  the  elementary  branches  ;  and  if 
the  town  contained  one  hundred  families,  it  should  "  set  up 
a  grammar  school  " — the  equivalent  of  our  present  high 
school. 

A  law  passed  in  1789,  authorizing  towns  to  divide  them- 
selves into  independent  districts,  was  productive  of  much 

*Law8, 1863,  Ch.  155;  1870,  Ch.  128. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  55 

injury  to  the  school  system — many  towns  availing  ^  them- 
selves of  its  provisions  only  to  find  its  defects  and  disad- 
vantages saddled  upon  them  in  course  of  time.  Gradually 
these  were  seen,  and  by  1849  "  several  towns  had  abolished 
their  districts  and  assumed  the  administration  of  the  schools 
in  their  corporate  capacity."  Not  until  1869,  however,  did 
Massachusetts  rid  herself  of  this  burden  and  hinderance. 
Other  states,  both  in  New  England  and  the  West,  adopted 
from  her  the  district  plan  ;  but  some  of  them,  as  Indiana 
and  Iowa — the  latter  as  early  as  1862 — discarded  it  for  the 
township  system,  and  others  are  moving  in  the  same  direc- 
tion.* 

The  organization  of  Wisconsin  as  a  state  found  the 
district  idea  everywhere  prevalent,  and  did  not  meddle 
with  it.  The  statutes  of  1849  only  regulated  the  organiza- 
tion and  management  of  districts,  and  authorized  them  to 
raise  taxes  for  school  purposes.  The  term  of  office  of  dis- 
trict directors  was  made  but  one  year — a  provision  which 
was  soon  found  to  be  disadvantageous  and  unsatisfactory, 
and  which  was  changed  in  1858  to  a  three  years'  term.  In 
the  same  year,  the  legal  voters  of  any  two  or  more  adjoining 
districts  were  authorized  to  form  a  union  district  for  high 
school  purposes. 

The  defects  of  the  district  sj'stem  soon  became  apparent. 
As  early  as  1853  the  report  of  the  state  superintendent 
advocated  union  schools,  and  consolidation  of  small  districts, 
as  the  only  effective  remedy  for  the  evils  of  the  district 
system — unequal  burdens  of  taxation,  miserable  school 
houses,  poor  teachers,  short  terms,  and  lack  of  books  and 
apparatus.  The  same  official  stated  in  1856  that  Racine, 
Kenosha  and  Waukesha  had  "model  schools,"  with  district 
primary  and  central  high  departments — these  independent 
cities  forming  a  strong  contrast  to  most  of  the  towns  run  on 
the  district  system.  Similar  complaints  were  made  from 
year  to  year,  aggravated  by  the  great  number  of  joint  dis- 
tricts, which  in  1860  numbered  812,  or  nearly  20  per  cent,  of 
all  the  districts  in  the  state.  These  caused  much  trouble  by 
local  differences  and  jealousies,  unequal  assessments, 
erroneous  reports,  etc.f  The  township  district  system  of 
schools,  which  made  every  town  a  single  district,  with  sub- 
districts,  was  advocated  year  after  year  by  state  superinten- 
dents and  the  state  teachers'  association — the  latter  sending 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1879,  pp.  63-64. 
tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1861,  p.  6. 


56  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

to  the  legislature,  in  December,  1863,  a  petition  for  the  in- 
troduction of  the  township  system.*  "Each  town  has  from 
one  to  sixteen  districts,  averaging  six  or  seven  to  the  town 
for  the  whole  state.  Each  of  these  districts  is  a  separate,  in- 
dependent republic,  accountable  to  no  higher  authority,  and 
dependent  upon  none,  except  in  the  matter  of  the  examina- 
tion of  teachers  and  the  annual  receipt  and  expenditure  of  a 
small  amount  of  money."  Among  the  evils  arising  from 
the  system  were  unequal  taxation,  poor  school  houses,  ineffi- 
cient teachers,  unnecessary  expense,  and  the  impossibility  of 
grading  the  schools."!  The  first  of  these  alone  was  a 
sufficiently  powerful  argument  for  the  proposed  change. 
In  1871  the  rates  of  district  taxation  in  the  town  of  Sumpter, 
Sauk  county,  varied  from  3.3  to  7.9  mills  on  the  dollar ;  in 
Washington,  same  county,  from  9  to  15  mills ;  and  in 
Franklin,  same  county,  from  8  to  30  mills.|  In  1876  the 
rates  of  taxation  for  schools  varied  from  1.35  mills  in 
Milwaukee  to  10  cents  in  some  of  the  newer  portions  of  the 
state.§ 

Finally,  in  1869,  an  act  was  passed  by  which  the  town- 
ship system  was  made  optional  with  towns.  The  town  was 
to  constitute  one  district,  of  which  the  former  districts 
became  sub-disiricts.  The  clerks  of  these  were  to  constitute 
the  town  board  of  school  directors,  who  should  have  the 
custody  and  care  of  all  school  houses,  sites,  and  property 
in  the  town.  They  were  to  estimate  the  amount  of  money 
to  be  raised  by  taxation  ;  to  establish  and  maintain  schools, 
including  at  least  one  school  in  each  sub-district,  and  man- 
age and  supervise  the  schools.  Each  school  must  continue 
at  least  five  months  to  receive  a  share  of  the  public  money. 
Electors  must  vote  annually  on  the  estimates  for  school 
taxation ;  if  they  should  fail  to  do  so,  the  necessary  amount 
should  be  assessed  and  collected  like  other  taxes.  ||  A 
decision  of  the  supreme  court  in  1870  declared  it  constitu- 
tional for  a  village,  by  its  act  of  incorporation,  to  be  organ- 
ized into  a  school  district. 

The  operation  of  this  law  has  been  slow  and  unsatisfac- 
tory. By  1874  only  four  counties — Barron,  Chippewa,  Jack- 
son and  Shawano — and  only  a  few  towns  in  each  of  these,  had 


*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  ISaS,  p.  111. 
tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1868,  pp.  30-39. 
tJour.  ofEd.,Mav,  1872. 
gSupt.  Pub.  Instr.',  1876,  p.  31. 
IILaws,  1869,  Ch.  182. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  0/ 

availed  themselves  of  its  provisions.  In  1881  only  nineteen 
towns,  in  nine  counties — all  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state 
— had  done  so.*  The  city  of  Appleton,  in  March,  1869, 
established  the  township  system,  but  in  1870  returned  to  the 
independent  district  plan,  which  it  has  retained  ever  since. 
Its  high  school  was  established  in  187G  by  the  school  board 
of  the  second  district,  under  the  law  of  1875.  The  township 
system  failed  in  Polk  county,  and  the  schools  are  all  under 
the  district  system.  Eau  Claire  retained  the  district  system 
until  two  years  ago. 

Even  now,  less  than  seventy  towns  have  organized  on 
the  township  plan.  "These  are  nearly  all  in  the  new  regions 
of  the  state,  and  in  the  main  have  organized  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  revenue  from  the  taxation  of  unoccupied  lands. "f 
For  fifteen  years  state  superintendents  and  other  leading 
educators  have  advocated  legislative  action  which  should 
make  the  town  system  obligatory,  instead  of  optional ;  but 
this  step  has  not  yet  been  taken,  and  public  opinion  evidently 
requires  much  education  yet  before  it  will  insist  that  law- 
makers shall  remedy  the  present  waste  of  money,  time  and 
energy  in  the  management  of  our  public  schools. 

The  gradual  spread  of  the  township  system  has  effected 
some  beneficial  results.  It  has,  with  other  favoring  influ- 
ences, brought  about  much  consolidation  of  weak  districts. 
The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  districts  in  the 
state,  by  decades ;  and  it  is  readily  seen  that  the  increase  in 
each  decade  is  small  compared  to  that  of  population  and  of 
new  territory  settled:  1849,  2,059;  1860,  4,434;  1870, 
4,802  ;  1880,  5,604 ;  1890,  6,097.  The  last  two  numbers 
refer  only  to  counties,  outside  the  cities.  Along  with  this 
consolidation,  at  once  a  cause  and  an  effect,  may  be  noted 
the  steady  increase  in  the  number  of  graded  countrj'  schools. 
And  finally,  the  organization  of  the  independent  city  school 
systems  is  largely  due  to  growing  appreciation  of  the  town- 
ship idea,  of  w^hich  the  city  system  is  really  an  exemplifica- 
tion. Th^re  are  now  48  of  these  independent  cities. 
Each  has  \a  board  of  education,  w^hich  generally  chooses  a 
president,  a  clerk,  and  a  superintendent.  Each  city  has 
usually  a  high  school,  to  which  are  sent  the  advanced  pupils 
from  the  other  schools,  for  higher  instruction.  A  peculiarity 
of  the  system  of  Beloit  is  that  the  amount  of  the  funds  to  be 
raised  by  taxation  is  determined  by  the  vote  of  the  city 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1874,  p.  69;  1881,  p.  xlv. 
tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892. 


58  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

school  board  alone.  This  plan  is  said  to  have  worked  very 
satisfactorily.*  In  these  48  cities  are  enrolled  90,740  pupils, 
with  1,923  teachers ;  and  their  expenditures  for  school  pur- 
poses during  the  past  year  amounted  to  $1, 576,702, f 

X. GRADED   AND   HIGH   SCHOOLS. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  AVisconsin's  history,  the  schools, 
both  public  and  private,  were  very  elementary  and  almo.st 
unorganized.  During  the  twenty  years  following  territorial 
organization  there  was  little  opportunity  for  improving  their 
quality,  outside  of  a  few  cities  and  large  towns.  Some  cities 
sustained  "select"  schools,  where  excellent  work  was  done. 
The  first  of  these  were  in  IVIilwaukee  and  Kenosha, 
about  1840;  and  others  were  in  successful  operation  in 
Whitewater,  1844  ;  in  AVaukesha,  1847 ;  and  Geneva,  1848. 

These  were  soon  followed  by  public  schools,  more  or  less 
graded.  The  first  of  them  was  in  Kenosha,  in  1849,  which 
became  a  model  for  other  towns.  Similar  schools  were 
established  at  Manitowoc,  1850 ;  Fond  du  Lac  and  Madison, 
1852 ;  and  Racine,  1854.|  These  schools  were  ably  con- 
ducted and  many  successful  teachers  and  business  men  were 
educated  in  them.  The  success  of  such  schools  emphasized 
the  need  of  improving  the  common  schools  in  other  locali- 
ties ;  but  this  was  a  slow  and  arduous  task.  The  state 
superintendent  in  1852  suggested  that  county  high  schools 
should  be  formed,  as  "scattered  population  and  limited 
means  forbid  the  establishment  of  town  high  schools."  In 
1860  there  were  less  than  50  graded  schools  of  any  kind  in 
the  state.§ 

The  first  high  school  class  ever  graduated  in  Wiscon- 
sin was  at  Racine,  December  24,  1857,  and  it  numbered  ten 
young  men  and  women.  The  high  school  of  Milwaukee 
was  opened  January  1,  1868,  with  128  pupils,  of  whom  all 
but  17  came  from  the  public  schools. || 

Constant  efforts  were  made  by  prominent  educators  to 
organize  and  grade  the  common  schools ;  but  the  prevalence 
of  the  district  system  everywhere  was  a  serious  obstacle.  If 
the  township  scheme  authorized  in  1869  had  been  generally 
adopted,  the  grading  of  the  schools  might  have  been  easily 
accomplished ;  but  it  was  impossible  under  the  district  regime. 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.  1869,  p.  102. 
tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.  1892. 
JWhitford,  pp.  &5-66. 
^Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1863,  p.  86. 
IJSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1868,  p.  142. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  59 

The  recommendation  by  the  state  teachers'  association, 
in  1871,  of  a  course  of  study  for  graded  schools  and  for  pub- 
lic high  schools  was  followed,  in  1872,  by  a  similar  recom- 
mendation in  behalf  of  the  county  or  ungraded  schools,  from 
the  convention  of  city  and  county  superintendents  which 
met  in  that  year.  It  was  felt  that  special  difficulties  lay  in 
the  way  of  adopting  the  latter  plan,  but  that  they  were  not 
quite  insuperable. 

By  1875,  great  improvement  was  visible  in  the  condi- 
tion of  the  schools.  There  were  27  independent  cities,  with 
flourishing  schools,  most  of  which  supported  excellent  high 
schools.  There  were  394  graded  schools  outside  of  cities,  of 
which  210  had  three  or  more  departments.  In  this  year  was 
passed  the  law  encouraging  the  voluntary  establishment  of 
free  high  schools  in  the  towns,  and  making  a  special  appro- 
priation of  $25,000  annually  towards  their  support.  Each 
school  might  receive  $500  from  this  fund,  and  an  additional 
sum  pro  rata  for  the  population  of  the  district.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  law,  the  state  superintendent  prepared  and 
presented  to  the  high  school  boards  three  full  courses  of 
study ;  two  of  these,  designed  for  towns  or  cities  having  a 
population  of  6,000  or  more,  were  four  years  long — ^the 
third,  for  districts  with  a  population  less  than  6,000,  was 
three  years  long. 

Under  this  law  11  high  schools  were  established  the  first 
year.  In  1880  there  were  95 ;  in  1885,  they  numbered  119 ; 
in  1890,  there  were  166 ;  and  in  1892  the  number  had  in- 
creased to  182  (besides  10  schools  not  aided  by  the  state). 
These  free  high  schools  have  not  only  been  a  distinct  ad- 
vance in  the  direction  of  the  higher  education,  but  they 
have  stimulated  and  improved  the  lower  schools  throughout 
the  state,  .besides  forming  a  connecting  link  between  the 
common  schools  and  the  university.  This  last  advantage 
was  early  desired  by  leading  educators  in  the  state.  In  1868 
President  Chadbourne,  of  the  university,  mentioned  the 
great  need  of  suitable  preparation  for  entering  students,  and 
said  this  deficiency  could  only  be  supplied  by  increase  in  the 
number  of  high  schools,  and  more  thorough  instruction 
therein.  In  1870  the  state  teachers'  association  recom- 
mended that  the  graded  schools  should  aim  to  prepare  schol- 
ars for  the  normal  classes,  and  the  high  schools  for  the  uni- 
versity and  other  college  classes.*     In  1871  the  state  super- 


*Supt.  Pub.  InBtr.,  1870,  p.  136. 


60  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

intendent  recommended  that  graduates  of  regularly  organ- 
ized high  or  graded  schools  be  admitted  to  the  university,  on 
certificates  from  their  principals,  without  farther  examina- 
tion or  charge  for  tuition.  The  next  year  a  law  was  enacted, 
adopting  this^plan  ;  and  that  year  eleven  students  were  thus 
admitted — the  second  year,  forty-three.  There  are  now  85 
state  high  schools  on  the  accredited  list  of  the  university,  be- 
sides 9  in  other  states. 

The  establishment  of  the  free  high  schools  under  the 
law  of  1875  was  a  powerful  stimulus  to  the  lower  schools 
everywhere.  Four  years  later,  every  county  except  three — 
and  these  in  the  northern  part  of  Wisconsin — had  estab- 
lished from  one  to  sixteen  graded  schools.  The  course  of 
study  for  country  schools  adopted  the  year  before  by  the 
state  teachers'  association  was  being  tested  in  the  schools, 
and  with  gratifj'ing  success.  In  some  of  the  country  schools 
a  fall  term  had  been  established — a  long  step  toward  the  full 
graded  system.*  In  1880  there  were  294  graded  schools  in 
the  counties,  and  157  in  the  cities,  besides  110  high  schools, 
of  which  fifteen  were  not  organized  under  the  law  of  1875. 

A  "  manual  of  a  course  of  study  for  ungraded  schools  "^ 
was  published  in  1882,  ten  years  after  its  first  suggestion  at 
the  convention  of  superintendents.  The  acceptance  of  this 
manual  by  the  country  schools  was  very  ready.  In  1886  it 
had  been  adopted  in  1,394  country  schools,  and  in  1892  by 
3,469. 

The  progress  of  the  free  high  schools  has  been  most 
gratifying  to  the  friends  of  education.  In  1884  the  state 
superintendent  reported  that  they  had  improved  in  attend- 
ance, in  the  number  instructed  in  the  higher  branches,  and 
the  number  completing  the  course  of  study.  The  amount 
collected  for  tuition  fees  from  non-resident  pupils  consider- 
ably exceeded  one-half  the  amount  received  -from  the  state. 
The  revised  statutes  for  1878  limited  the  time  for  which  any 
one  school  could  receive  state  aid  to  five  years ;  but  in  1882 
this  time  was  extended  to  ten  years.  In  the  latter  year  the 
state  superintendent  thus  commented  on  the  condition  of 
the  schools :  "  The  reports  indicate  that  most  of  the  pupils 
study  here  to  supplement  the  work  of  the  common 
schools,  and  not  to  fit  for  college.  In  the  seventh  year  but 
little  more  than  five  per  cent,  of  the  pupils  completed  either 
course  of  study — 367  out  of  an  enrollment  of  6,528.     These 


*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1879,  pp.  2,  18. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OB^   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  61 

schools  have  done  good  work  in  supplementing  the  common 
schools,  in  fitting  for  college  those  who  desired,  and  in  pre- 
paring students  for  teaching.  More  definite,  intelligent  and 
thorough  supervision  of  these  schools  is  needed,  and  would 
greatly  improve  their  quality." 

In  1885  it  was  found  that  the  fund  was  absorbed  by 
high  schools  connected  with  the  graded  systems  of  the  cities 
and  villages.  Accordingly  another  fund  of  $25,000  annually 
was  appropriated  for  free  high  schools  m  towns  having  no 
graded  schools.*  The  first  school  organized  under  this  law 
was  at  Medina,  in  Dane  county,  in  September,  1886.  The 
plan  was  admirable,  but  did  not  prove  successful.  But  four 
of  these  schools  were  organized,  and  of  those  only  two  now 
remain.  The  town  high  schools  were  impossible  under  the 
independent  district  system ;  and  the  legislature  in  1889 
ordered  that  the  fund  for  their  support  should  be  added  to 
the  free  high  school  fund  of  1875,  and  thus  made  available 
for  the  high  schools  of  cities  and  villages.  The  same  legis- 
lature authorized  the  state  superintendent  to  appoint  an 
assistant  for  the  purpose  of  visiting,  inspecting  and  super- 
vising the  high  schools.f 

The  high  schools  are  thus  characterized  by  the  state 
superintendent,  in  his  report  for  1890 :  "  The  high  school 
is  at  present  the  most  potent  factor  in  the  educational  system 
of  the  state.  In  its  relation  to  the  university  in  preparatory 
work,  in  its  relation  to  the  normal  schools  in  academic 
preparation,  and  in  the  professional  instruction  afforded  to 
the  great  body  of  teachers  required  in  the  district  schools, 
the  high  school  is  important.  It  is  chiefly  valuable,  how- 
ever, in  its  relation  to  the  work  of  associated  lower  grades 
in  the  same  school,  and  to  the  work  in  the  surrounding 
country  district  schools,  and  gives  an  uplift  to  all  schools  of 
lower  grades."! 

Of  special  interest  are  certain  statistics  collected  by  the 
state  superintendent  last  year,  and  published  in  his  report, 
just  issued.  The  financial  condition  of  families  sending 
children  to  the  high  school  was  ascertained,  as  accurately  as 
possible,  and  the  occupations  of  the  parents.  There  were 
5,491  families  represented,  by  whom  6,369  children  were 
sent  to  119  high  schools.  "  Of  these  families,  2,732  are 
rated  below  $1,000  worth  of  taxable  property,  as  assessed  by 

*Law8,  1S85,  Ch.  352. 

fSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1886,  p.  28;  1890,  p.  14. 

tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1890,  p.  16. 


62  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF    EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

the  state.  Those  rated  between  $1,000  and  $2,500  number 
2,645.  Only  216  are  rated  above  $10,000.  In  other  words, 
more  than  one-half  the  patrons  of  the  high  schools  are 
assessed  at  less  than  $1,000,  more  than  three-fourths  below 
$2,500 ;  and  only  one  in  twenty-live  above  $10,000.  The 
free  high  school  is  emphatically  the  school  of  tl>e  poor  man 
and  of  those  in  moderate  circumstances."  The  same  con- 
clusion is  reached  in  comparing  the  occupations  of  parents. 
"Of  the  5,491,  farmers  number  1,623,  day  laborers  659,  and 
361  are  supported  by  widows — these  three  classes  constitut- 
ing more  than  two-fifths  of  all  the  patrons."* 

There  are  now  182  free  high  schools,  with  an  enrollment 
of  11,022  pupils.  The  average  age  of  pupils  entering  is 
13.5  years.  The  number  of  graduates  for  1892  was  1,156; 
the  total  number  of  graduates  since  organization  of  the 
schools,  8,700.  It  is  noticeable  that,  of  all  those  now 
enrolled,  a  large  majority,  7,981,  are  studying  English 
branches  only.  The  schools  received  for  tuition  of  non- 
resident pupils  in  1892,  $22,458.88,  an  average  of  $128  each. 

XI. TEACHERS    AND    THEIR    QUALIFICATIONS. 

During  the  territorial  and  early  state  periods,  the  status 
of  teachers  was  very  unsatisfactory^  as,  indeed,  might  be  ex- 
pected. The  schools  were  ungraded  and  poorly  housed  and 
equipped  ;  salaries  were  very  low  ;  there  was  no  uniformity 
of  management  or  supervision,  outside  of  a  few  cities, 
where  most  of  the  wealth  of  that  time  was  concentrated. 
Here  sufficient  salaries  were  paid  to  command  experienced 
and  capable  teachers ;  but  elseA^here  there  was  little  induce- 
ment to  such  instructors,  and  few  country  teachers  were 
able  to  go  beyond  the  rudiments  of  knowledge.  Certificates 
were  granted,  under  the  statutes  of  1849,  by  town  superinten- 
dents, who  were  not  always  possessed  of  as  much  "  book- 
learning  "  as  was  the  applicant. 

The  state  superintendent  in  1850  urged  the  organiza- 
tion of  town  superintendents  into  county  boards,  who  should 
grant  certificates  good  for  any  school  in  the  county,  at  public 
examinations  to  be  held  once  or  twice  each  year.  This  would 
be  likely  to  secure  more  thorough  examination,  more  im- 
partial judgment  as  to  qualifications  of  candidates,  and  the 
improvement  of  teachers  themselves.  Various  plans  for 
securing  these  objects  were  brought  forward  by  those  inter- 
ested in  educational  matters,  for  several  years ;  but  in  this 


*Supt.  Pub.  Inptr.,  1892,  pp.  48-.50. 


GENERAL    SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL    HISTORY.  03 

early  transition  period  it  was  hard  to  effect  reforms.  The 
teachers'  institutes  and  the  efforts  to  secure  normal  schools 
did  much  to  educate  the  teachers  and  to  strengthen  public 
interest  in  the  subject. 

Had  it  not  been  for  the  occurrence  of  the  civil  war,  a 
great  educational  advance  along  all  the  lines  would  prob- 
ably have  begun  in  Wisconsin  about  1861 ;  but  in  the 
presence  of  the  danger  that  menaced  even  national  ex- 
istence, such  affairs  were  necessarily  deferred  till  the  return 
of  peace.  A  law  was  passed,  however,  in  1862,*  providing 
for  the  issuance,  to  qualified  teachers,  of  graded  certificates. 
At  first,  so  many  incompetent  and  ignorant  teachers  were 
weeded  out  by  the  examinations  under  this  law  that  it  was 
difficult  to  supply  the  districts  with  teachers ;  but  the  effects 
were  most  beneficial  in  raising  the  standards  of  both  schools 
and  teachers,  and  stimulating  the  latter  to  improvement. 

Another  great  advance  was  made  in  1868,  when  a  state 
board  of  examiners  was  created  to  issue  state  certificates  good 
for  any  school  in  the  state. f  At  the  first  examination,  two 
of  these  certificates  were  granted.  The  opening  of  the  nor- 
mal schools  about  this  time,  gave  further  opportunity  for 
ambitious  teachers  to  qualify  themselves  for  the  higher  posi- 
tions, and  since  then  a  steady  progress  and  improvement 
are  to  be  noted  in  the  professional  standards  of  teachers 
throughout  the  state.  There  were  fifteen  students  in  the 
first  class  graduated  from  the  Milwaukee  normal  school,  and 
all  except  one  found  immediate  employment  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  city — but  one  of  many  instances  showing  the 
confidence  of  the  public  in  the  normal  schools,  and  their 
beneficial  effect  upon  the  teachers'  profession. 

The  state  superintendent  was  authorized  in  March,  1878, 
to  countersign  the  diploma  of  any  graduate  of  the  state 
university  who,  after  graduation,  had  successfully  taught  a 
public  school  in  Wisconsin  for  sixteen  months,  and  who 
could  furnish  suitable  testimonials  as  to  moral  character, 
learning,  and  ability  to  teach.  The  diploma,  thus  counter- 
signed, became  an  unlimited  state  certificate.  It  was  issued 
to  thirty-six  graduates  of  the  university  in  that  year,  and  to 
eighteen  in  1892.  Two  years  Jater,  the  same  favor  was 
granted  to  graduates  of  incorporated  colleges  or  universities 
in  Wisconsin  whose  courses  were  fully  equal  to  corresponding 
courses  in   the  state  university.     Thirty -one   graduates  of 

*Laws,  1862,  Ch.  176. 
tLawB,  1868,  Ch.  169. 


(j4  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

Beloit,  Lawrence,  Milton  and  Ripen  availed  themselves  that 
year  of  this  provision;  and  others  have  done  so  every  year 
since.* 

The  requirements  for  a  state  certificate  have  increased 
with  the  general  advance  of  educational  standards.  At  the 
first  examination,  held  in  August,  1868,  candidates  were 
required  to  pass  a  thorough  examination  in  the  branches 
specified  for  a  county  first-grade  certificate,  and  a  satisfactory- 
examination  in  the  following  additional  branches — botany, 
physiology,  zoology,  chemistry,  geology,  political  economy, 
and  mental  philosophy;  also  in  the  constitution  and  govern- 
ment of  Wisconsin  and  the  United  States,  and  in  the  school 
laws  of  this  state,  so  far  as  they  relate  to  the  rights  and 
duties  of  teachers.  In  1872  certificates  good  for  five  years 
were  granted  on  the  basis  of  the  studies  required  for  a  first- 
grade  county  certificate,  with  the  addition  of  English  litera- 
ture and  the  rudiments  of  mental  philosophy;  also  three 
terms'  experience  in  teaching.  Life  certificates  were  also 
graded  as  first  and  second,  with  nine  terms'  experience  as 
teachers.  In  1877  phj'sics  and  general  history  were  added 
to  the  branches  required. 

During  the  past  year  the  number  of  teachers  em- 
ployed in  the  public  schools  was  12,355.  Of  these,  620 
graduates  and  1,684  non-graduates  were  supplied  by  the 
normal  schools,  and  279  held  state  certificates;  513  first 
grade  and  1,148  second-grade  certificates,  and  151  state 
certificates,  were  granted.  Out  of  6,427  teachers  in  at- 
tendance on  the  institutes,  399  are  reported  as  having 
attended  college,  1,168  the  normal  schools,  3,383  the  high 
schools,  and  but  1,413  the  common  schools  only.f  These 
figures  aftbrd  gratifying  evidence  of  the  increa.se  in  standards 
of  qualification  among  Wisconsin  teachers. 

For  twenty-five  years  the  need  of  a  uniform  system  of 
examinations  has  been  felt  by  superintendents  and  leading 
teachers,  ^^arious  efforts  have  been  made  to  secure  this,  but 
not  with  entire  success.  Since  1889,  however,  examination 
papers  prepared  by  the  state  superintendent  have  been  used 
by  many  of  the  county  superintendents,  with  very  beneficial 
results.  It  is  hoped  that  ,the  state  will,  ere  long,  make 
uniform  examinations  in  all  the  counties  obligatory. 

In  1878,  special  efforts  were  made  in  most  of  the 
counties  to  secure  more  highly  qualified  teachers.     Exam- 

*Supt.  Pub.  In8tr.,lS80,  p.  30. 
tSupt.  Pub.  I  list  r.,  1892. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  65 

illations  were  made  much  more  severe,  and  from  one-fourth 
to  two-thirds  of  the  apphcants  for  certificates  in  the  various 
counties  were  rejected.  The  law  of  1887  gave  greater  value 
to  teachers'  certificates,  by  extending  the  first-grade  to  four 
years,  and  the  second-grade  to  two  years.  The  qualifica- 
tions of  teachers  in  the  free  high  schools  must  be  approved 
by  the  state  superintendent ;  and  principals  of  these  schools 
must  be  graduates  of  a  university,  normal  school,  or  college ; 
teachers  who  hold  state  certificates,  or  persons  who  have 
passed  examinations  in  the  branches  of  the  prescribed  course 
•of  study. 

Another  evidence  of  improvement  in  the  status  of 
teachers  is  seen  in  the  gradual  rise  in  their  salaries.  In 
1850,  the  average  was  $17.14  a  month  for  men,  and  $9.02 
for  women.  The  highest  Avages  paid  in  any  town  was  at 
Kenosha,  where  men  received  $60  and  women  $20.  But  in 
the  same  count}',  in  the  town  of  Bristol,  women  received  the 
lowest  wages  reported  in  the  state,  $2  a  month.* 

The  following  table  shows  the  average  wages  paid  to 
teachers  since  1849 : 

Year.  Men.  Women. 

1849 $15.22  $  6.92 

1855 28.10  12.08 

1865 36.45  22.24 

1875 43.50  27.13 

1885 41.75  28.20 

1892 45.00  29.40 

In  the  first  two  periods  noted  above,  it  is  only  fair  to 
make  an  allowance  (then  estimated  at  $6  a  month)  for  the 
additional  privilege  accorded  in  many  country  districts  of 
"  boarding  around."  In  the  last  three,  the  figures  refer  only 
to  counties.  The  average  salaries  of  teachers  in  the  cities 
have  increased  thus : 

Year.  Men.  Women. 

1875 $    109.40      $  39.40 

1885 1,015.00        370.(X)  (annual) 

1892 1,071.00        412.00 

To  this  may  be  added  the  fact  that  the  present  average 
salary  of  principals  of  free  high  schools  is  $982  a  year. 

It  is  worth  while  here  to  notice  the  share  of  women  in 
the  business  of  education.  In  1849  they  divided  this  work 
almost  equally  with  men^ — the  latter  being  generally  con- 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1850. 


66  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

sidered  as  superior  in  ability,  while  the  exigencies  of  a  newly- 
settled  country  compelled  the  employment  of  many  women 
in  the  schools  as  a  measure  of  economy,  especially  in  the 
summer  months.  In  1866  about  two-thirds  of  the  teachers 
were  women — "  females,"  as  they  are  styled  in  most  official 
reports ;  sometimes  in  latev  years  characterized  as  "  ladies." 
Their  numbers  have  steadily  increased  till,  in  1892,  there  are 
but  2,207  men  to  10,148  women.  The  state  superintendent 
said  in  1886 :  "  The  business  of  teaching  is  rapidly  passing 
into  the  hands  of  women.  Very  many  of  these  are  young 
and  immature.  The  schools  have  suffered  materially  by  the 
general  withdrawal  of  men  from  teaching ;  and  this  is,  in 
the  opinion  of  many,  one  chief  cause  of  the  early  falling  out 
of  school  by  boys,  in  both  the  common  and  high  schools."  * 
It  is  somewhat  amusing  to  trace  a  possible  relation  of  cause 
and  effect  between  this  utterance  and  that  of  the  superin- 
tendent of  Fond  du  Lac,  in  1868.  He  reported  that  the  36 
teachers  of  that  city,  in  16  school  houses,  with  3,000  pupils, 
were  all  women,  from  the  principal  down  ;  but  the  pleasing 
effect  of  this  announcement  is  diminished  by  his  naive  ex- 
planation of  the  phenomenon.  "  Until  this  year  we  employed 
a  man  as  principal,  at  a  salary  of  $1,200  to  |1,700.  We  now 
secure  the  same  service,  much  better  performed,  for 
$700."  t 

Women  became  eligible  to  office  as  county  superinten- 
dents, in  1875,  and  they  have  done  excellent  work  in  numer- 
ous counties.  In  1890  eleven  county  superintendents  were 
women,  also  two  city  superintendents  and  five  principals  of 
free  high  schools.  This  year  the  principals  are  all  men. 
Women  are  also  eligible  to  any  school  office,  according  to 
section  513  of  the  revised  statutes;  and  they  may  vote  at 
elections  which  involve  school  matters  only. 

The  organization  and  influence  of  the  state  teachers' 
association  have  already  been  mentioned.  In  July,  1889, 
this  body  decided  to  hold  but  one  session  annually  there- 
after, instead  of  two.  Branch  organizations  were  also  formed, 
— southeastern  Wisconsin  teachers'  association,  which  met 
first  at  Waukesha,  March  31,  1890;  and  the  southwestern 
Wisconsin  teachers'  association,  which  convened  at  Boscobel, 
February  21,  1890. 

In  July,  1884,  the  twenty-fourth  annual  meeting  of  the 
national  educational  association  was  held  at  Madison,  with 


Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1886,  p.  .30. 
■Supt.  Pub.  Inatr.,  1868,  p.  132. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  67 

an  attendance  of  6,000 — said  to  be  the  largest  educational 
gathering  ever  assembled  in  America  up  to  that  time, 

XII. — SCHOOL   ADMINISTRATION. 

By  the  statutes  of  1849,  each  town  and  city  was  required 
to  raise  its  own  school  taxes.  Laws  passed  at  the  session  of 
1853  changed  this  plan,  so  that  the  board  of  county  super- 
visors were  required,  at  their  annual  meeting,  to  determine 
the  amounts  needed  for  each  town  and  ward  in  the  county. 
Such  amount  was  to  be  levied  and  collected  each  year,  and 
must  be  not  less  than  one-half  the  amount  of  state  money 
received  in  the  last  apportionment,  nor  must  it  exceed  the 
rate  of  three  mills  on  the  dollar.  Taxes  for  building  school 
houses  were  not  to  exceed  ^300  in  any  district,  except  in 
special  cases.  The  qualifications  for  school  suffrage  were 
made  the  same  as  for  state  and  county  voters,  with  ten  days 
residence  in  the  district  where  the  vote  was  offered.  The 
following  branches  were  to  be  taught  in  every  school,  in  the 
English  language :  orthography,  reading,  writing,  English 
grammar,  geography  and  arithmetic,  with  such  other 
branches  as  the  board  should  determine.*  The  same  legis- 
lature enacted  that  a  copy  of  the  school  code  revised  in  that 
year,  and  of  all  amendments  thereafter  added  to  it,  should 
be  furnished  to  each  school  district  in  the  state. 

A  statute  of  1859  gave  the  county  board  of  supervisors 
power  to  charge  delinquent  school  taxes  to  any  town  failing 
to  raise  them,  with  an  additional  penalty  of  25  per  cent.,  the 
same  to  be  added  to  the  current  tax  of  said  town,  and  levied 
with  it. 

In  1866  each  county  was  required  to  raise  a  school  tax 
equal  in  amount  to  its  apportionment  received  from  the 
state,  but  not  to  exceed  in  any  year  three  mills  on  the  dollar. f 
Towns  also  were  authorized  to  raise  such  sums  of  money  as 
they  might  deem  necessary,  in  addition  to  the  amounts  re- 
quired by  law  to  be  raised  ;  and  by  the  revision  of  1878  the 
sum  to  be  raised  by  each  town  must  be  at  least  one-half  of 
its  share  from  the  school  fund.J  The  county  tax  rnust  be 
equal,  under  the  present  school  code,  to  the  amount  received 
from  the  state — not  only  from  the  school  fund  income,  but 
from  the  state  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar,  levied  under 
the  act  of  1885.     To  this  is  to  be  added  the  district  tax — 


*School  Laws  of  Wis.,  1854. 
tLaws,  1866,  Ch.  40. 
JR.  8.,  1878,  Sec.  5.>4. 


68  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

which  is  restricted  in  its  annual  amount  by  the  average 
number  of  scholars  attending  the  school  during  the  school 
year — and  it  will  be  seen  that  a  heavy  burden  of  taxation  is 
borne  by  the  people  of  the  state  for  the  support  of  education. 

Before  1848  there  were  less  than  200  public  schools  es- 
tablished. These  were  maintained  by  the  lease  of  the  six- 
teenth sections,  by  local  taxes  and  rate-bills ;  and  they  were 
managed  solely  by  district  and  town  officers.  The  value  of 
school  houses  in  1848  was  about  $150,000.*  The  whole 
number  of  school  houses  reported  in  1850,  in  263  towns  was 
1,223,  valued  at  $173,247.67.  Of  these  38  were  built  of 
brick,  51  of  stone,  568  of  logs,  and  540  were  framedf — a 
curious  indication  of  the  economic  condition  of  the  infant 
state. 

From  this  small  beginning  has  arisen  a  great  super- 
structure— an  extensive  and  costly  system  of  public  educa- 
tion which  has,  in  the  main,  kept  pace  with  the  material 
growth  of  AV^isconsin.  In  the  following  table  is  given  the 
total  expenditures  for  school  purposes,  by  decades : 

1850 S    142,017  96 

1860 377.530  00 

1870 2,006,820  66 

1880 2,161,071  88 

1890 3,860,413  53 

1892 4,326,327  54 

The  total  value  of  school  houses  and  sites  in  the  state  is 
now  $10,324,925.00.  The  school  enrollment  is  360,640,  or 
58  per  cent,  of  the  school  population.  The  number  of 
children  between  seven  and  thirteen  years  of  age  is 
278,646,  of  whom  72.5  per  cent,  are  enrolled  in  the  public 
schools,  and  about  16  per  cent,  in  the  private  .schools.  In 
the  sixty-eight  counties  are  6,953  schools,  with  6,570  build- 
ings. In  the  forty-eight  independent  cities  are  90,315 
pupils,  with  1,923  teachers,  and  299  buildings.  The  total 
expenditures  for  public  education  in  the  vear  ending  -lune 
30,  1892,  amounted  to  $4,898,572.44— including  the  support 
of  the  universitv  and  all  public  educational  institutions.^ 
In  1880  this  sum  was  $2,603,104.08.§ 

One  of  the  many  gratifying  indications  of  educational 
progress  is   seen  in  the  improvement  of  school  buildings. 

*Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1881,  p.  v. 
tSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1850. 
JSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892. 
ISupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1880,  p.  xxiii. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  69 

Complaints  were  frequent  and  loud,  in  early  years,  of  the 
wretched  houses,  without  proper  seats,  blackboards,  ventila- 
tion, or  outhouses.  As  late  as  1863,  out  of  4,168  school 
houses,  2,495  were  framed,  1,298  were  built  of  logs,  and  only 
183  of  stone  and  192  of  brick.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  the  log 
buildings  were  found  in  the  counties  of  Washington,  Rich- 
land, Manitowoc,  Sauk,  Vernon  and  Dane.  Outline  maps 
were  reported  in  only  1,090  of  the  school  houses,  and  493  had 
no  blackboards,  3,327  had  grounds  containing  less  than  one 
acre,  while  3,106  had  sites  unenclosed.  Rock  county  was  far 
ahead  in  the  amount  invested  in  school  houses,  $121,975; 
and  Milwaukee  came  next  wdth  $95,000.*  In  1879  the 
state  board  of  health  made  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
sanitary  condition  of  school  buildings  and  grounds  and  of 
the  health  of  pupils.  The  facts  reported  by  them  were 
startling  and  of  urgent  importance ;  for  instance  :  "  Lo- 
cated thus,  a  frog-pond  on  the  west ;  a  hog  j'ard  on  the  east ; 
a  railroad  next  the  fence  on  the  south  ;  and  a  cemetery  just 
across  the  road  on  the  north  ! "  "  Play  grounds  decorated 
with  old  roots,  stumps  and  saw-logs."  "  Nearly  one-half  the 
school-rooms  described  allow  less  space  than  200  cubic  feet 
of  space  per  capita."  "  Ventilated  through  cracks  and 
crevices  or  by  holes  made  by  ground-squirrels  and  gophers. 
Often  windows  nailed  fast.  Too  well  ventilated  for  health 
or  comfort  by  cracks  in  unseasoned  flooring  or  weather- 
boarding."  "  Only  23  out  of  600  declare  that  the  ventila- 
tion of  their  school  houses  is  satisfactory."  "  To  the  ques- 
tion :  Does  sight  often  suffer  ?  Only  63  out  of  600  answer 
unreservedly  in  the  negative."  "  Seats  genuine  antiques — 
all  the  same  height  and  five  to  seven  feet  long.  Sixteen 
seats,  and  in  winter  56  pupils.  Seats  all  graded,  but 
models  for  many  of  them  borrowed  from  implements  of  the 
Spanish  inquisition."  "  Not  one  school  building  in  Wiscon- 
sin in  which  provision  for  drying  wet  clothing  in  bad 
weather  is  reported."  "  Out-houses  often  lacking  entirely  ; 
seldom  separate ;  58  per  cent,  unscreened  from  weather  and 
observation  ;  often  shamefully  neglected  and  filthy  ;  often 
15  feet  or  less  from  the  main  building."  "  Over  61  per 
cent,  of  the  schools  without  water  supply.  Water  brought 
from  an  adjoining  marsh,  or  from  wells  receiving  the  drain- 
age from  barnyards  or  out-houses."  ''  Contagious  diseases 
frequent ;  in  many  towns  no   care  taken   to   isolate   cases ; 

*Supt.  Pub.  Inptr.,  1863,  pp.  84,  94. 


70  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

children  having  these  diseases  allowed  to  attend  school 
freely."* 

This  inquiry  by  the  board  of  health  aroused  consider- 
able interest,  and  did  much  to  improve  the  sanitary  con- 
dition of  the  schools.  It  was  followed  in  1881  by  a  cir- 
cular, prepared  by  the  state  superintendent,  containing 
plans  and  specifications  of  school  houses.  Many  districts 
have  availed  themselves  of  the  suggestions  contained  there- 
in, and  much  improvement  in  school  buildings  has  resulted. 

The  board  of  health  also  deprecated  the  custom  so 
prevalent — and  unfortunately  authorized  by  the  state — of 
sending  children  to  school  at  the  age  of  four,  or  even  less ; 
also  the  exactions,  upon  growing  children,  of  a  multiplicity 
of  studies,  too  long  hours  and  the  marking  system — evils 
which  especially  affect  the  city  schools.  In  1880,  out  of 
5,497  school  houses,  336  were  still  without  blackboards ;  only 
2,116  had  the  map  of  Wisconsin,  and  2,541  the  map  of  the 
United  States;  and  866  were  not  supplied  with  Webster's 
Dictionary.  Only  1,894  had  sites  well  enclosed ;  but  4,295 
are  reported  as  in  good  condition,  and  3,561  as  properly 
ventilated.  In  that  year  Grant  and  .Jefferson  counties  led  in 
the  cash  value  of  school  houses. f  In  1892,  out  of  6,271 
buildings,  the  number  in  good  condition  is  5,927,  and  5,722 
have  separate  outhouses  for  the  sexes,  which  are,  with  few 
exceptions,  in  good  condition.  Railroad  maps  of  Wisconsin 
are  in  4,437  and  outline  maps  in  4,242.|  The  figures  for 
1880  and  1892  refer  only  to  counties  outside  the  independent 
cities. 

The  time  during  which  a  school  must  be  maintained, 
in  order  to  secure  its  share  of  public  money,  was  at  first  three 
months,  this  was  in  1866  extended  to  five  months,  and  in 
1887  to  six  months.  The  history  and  constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  of  Wisconsin  were  introduced  into  the 
public  schools  in  1871;  and  in  1869  instruction  in  foreign 
languages,  not  to  exceed  one  hour  a  day,  was  allowed.  In- 
struction in  physiology  and  hygiene,  with  special  reference 
to  the  effects  of  stimulants  and  narcotics  upon  the  human 
system,  was  ordered  in  1885.§ 

In  1855,  the  state  superintendent  was  authorized  to  sup- 
ply Webster's  Unabridged  Dictionary  to  any  deficient  school 

*Report  of  St.  Bd.  of  Health,  1879,  pp.  14-68. 
fSupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1880. 
tSupt.  Pub.  luBtr.,  1892. 
^Laws,  1885,  Ch.  327. 


Ibon.  ®,  le.  Mclle. 

state  Superinten&cnt  ot  Public  instruction  in  "CClisconsin. 

Oliver  Ehviii  A\'ells,  the  present  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  in  Wisconsin,  was  born  at  Lamartine,  Fond 
du  Lac  county,  July  2,  1853.  His  education  was  obtained  in 
the  conunon  schools  near  his  home  and  completed  at  Chicago 
university  in  June,  1878.  With  the  exception  of  about  three 
and  a  half  years'  residence  in  Vermont,  whence  he  returned  to 
Wisconsin,  when  nine  years  of  age,  and  the  period  of  his 
attendance  at  the  university,  he  has  been  a  life  resident  of  his 
native  state. 

He  began  his  career  as  a  teacher  in  F'ond  du  I^ac  county 
before  completing  his  college  education  and  afterward  became 
jmncipal  of  the  village  school  of  Manawa.  Two  years  as  princi- 
l»al  of  this  school,  and  one  as  principal  of  the  south  side  school 
in  New  London,  pointed  him  out  as  an  organizer  of  unques- 
tioned alnlity,  and  won  for  him  without  opposition  the  county 
superintendency  of  Waupaca.  The  extensive  and  varied  ex- 
perience gained  in  teaching  nearly  all  classes  and  subjects  from 
the  district  schools  to  the  high^  schools  afforded  a  sound  l)asis 
Ibr  the  exercise  of  supervising  ability  and  thus  established  his 
title  to  leadershi})  in  the  conduct  of  a  conniion  school  sys- 
tem. To  his  faculty  for  organization,  Mr.  Wells  unites  a  devo- 
tion to  learning.  He  has  therefore  marked  every  step  of  pro- 
gress in  methods  of  management  by  a  corresponding  advance- 
ment in  the  aims  and  methods  of  teaching.  The  five  high 
schools  which  he  secured  for  Waupaca,  no  less  bear  witness  to 
his  ability  for  organization  than  does  the  pre-eminent  success  of 
the  reading  circle  movement,  which  placed  Wau})aca  in  the  front 
rank  among  those  counties  where  this  important  means  of  cul- 
ture has  been  instituted.  While  in  the  school  at  Appleton, 
which  soon  l)ecame  a  high  school  under  his  management,  Mr. 
Wells  seems  to  have  yielded  to  his  ambition  for  a  wider  field  of 
literary  work,  and  l^egan  to  consider  seriously  a  plan  for  edito- 
rial work. 

The  invitation  to  accept  the  principalship  of  a  school  at 
Manitowoc,  diverted  him  for  a  period  from  this  intention.  The 
nomination  upon  the  democratic  ticket  for  state  superintendent 
in  the  fall  of  1890,  saved  liim  to  his  profession.  The  tidal  wave 
of  democratic  triumph  carried  him  to  the  state  capitol  as  leader 
of  the  state  system  of  public  schools.  The  twt)  years  of  Mr. 
AVells'  superintendency  have  proved  his  industry  and  vigor, 
and  in  every  way  satisfied  the  claims  of  his  friends  and  the  ex- 
pectation of  the  public. 

W.  E.  A. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  71 

district  in  the  state,  for  which  purpose  3,000  copies  of  the 
book  were  purchased,  at  $4  a  copy.  One-half  the  cost  of 
the  books  was  to  be  deducted  from  the  next  apportionment 
of  state  money  to  towns  thus  suppHed ;  but  in  1859  this 
was  amended  so  as  to  deduct  the  whole  amount  thus  ex- 
pended from  the  general  school  fund  income.  In  1867 
the  district  receiving  a  dictionary  was  required  to  pay  in 
advance  the  cost,  $4  a  copy.  This  arrangement  for  sup- 
plying dictionaries  to  the  districts  through  the  state  has 
been  kept  up  to  the  present  time. 

An  act  of  1889  authorized  school  boards  to  purchase 
United  States  flags,  which  has  done  much  to  stimulate 
patriotism  in  the  common  schools. 

An  act  of  1889  authorized  the  observance  of  Arbor  Day 
in  schools,  to  be  accompanied  by  exercises  designed  to  im- 
part a  knowledge  of  arboriculture,  and  to  promote  the 
adornment  of  school  and  public  grounds.  Little  was  done 
to  secure  its  observance  until  1891,  when  Governor  Peck  and 
other  gentlemen  offered  a  fund  of  $1,000  for  giving  a  prize 
to  the  school  in  each  county  which  should  observe  Arbor 
Day  and,  during  the  spring  and  summer,  make  the  most 
improvement  in  its  premises.  The  state  superintendent  sent 
out  circulars  of  information  and  encouragement,  and  aroused 
so  much  interest  that  prizes  were  awarded  to  fifty-six  coun- 
ties. In  1892  still  more  was  accomplished.  The  state  super- 
intendent's circular  contained  abundant  material  for  the  ex- 
ercises of  Arbor  Day ;  2,408  districts  observed  the  day,  and 
planted  18,343  trees.  Nearly  all  the  city  and  village  schools 
had  appropriate  exercises,  and  most  of  them  planted  trees. 
Columbus  Day  was  also  observed  this  year,  both  in  country 
and  city  schools.  It  is  estimated  that  5,082  different  de- 
partments took  part  in  the  exercises  of  October  21,  and  much 
interest  was  visible,  not  only  in  these  exercises,  but  in  his- 
torical works  regarding  Columbus  and  his  times.* 

XIII. SCHOOL    LIBRARIES. 

Expenditures  for  common  school  libraries  were  author- 
ized by  the  state  constitution,  and  Wisconsin  was  the  second 
state  in  the  Union  to  make  constitutional  provision  for  this 
purpose.f  The  statutes  of  1849  provided  that,  as  soon  as 
the  total  annual  income  of  the  school  fund  should  exceed 
§30,000,  it  should  be  the  duty  of  each  town  superintendent 

*  Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1892. 

t  Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1890,  p.  18. 


72  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

to  appropriate  and  distribute,  among  the  districts  of  his  town,, 
ten  per  cent,  of  the  apportionment  to  the  town  from  the 
school  fund  income,  this  sum  to  be  apphed  by  the  districts 
to  the  purchase  of  school  district  free  libraries.  Each  district 
was  also  authorized  to  vote  for  a  district  tax,  not  exceeding 
$30  annually,  for  the  same  purpose.  In  1866  this  limit  was 
increa.sed  to  $50 ;  and  in  1867  school  districts  containing 
over  200  children  of  school  age  were  authorized  to  raise  a 
tax  for  this  purpose,  not  exceeding  $100. 

In  1852  the  districts  had  expended  for  libraries 
§11,270.22,  of  which  only  $1,209  was  raised  by  local  taxa- 
tion, the  remainder  being  apportioned  from  the  school  fund 
income.  The  law  was  found  to  be  unsatisfactory  in  its  re- 
sults, because  "  each  district  was  compelled  to  spend  a  par- 
ticular per  cent,  of  its  receipts  from  the  public  moneys, 
regardless  of  its  special  necessities.  Under  this  law  some  of 
the  large  districts  received  nearly  $60,  Avhile  some  of  the 
smaller  ones  received  less  than  one  dollar — in  the  latter  case, 
a  sum  entirely  insufficient  for  practical  use."*  The  state 
superintendent  suggested  an  appropriation  of  $10  to  each 
district,  on  condition  that  it  should  raise  an  equal  amount, 
for  the  purchase  of  books. 

In  1854  there  were  only  875  district  libraries,  in  over 
3,000  districts,  and  these  contained  but  14,000  volumes. 
This  deficiency  is  ascribed  to  the  ordinance  by  which  the 
appropriation  of  ten  per  cent,  from  the  school  fund  was  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  town  superintendents  ;t  and  the  state 
superintendent  recommended  that  such  appropriation  be 
made  compulsory.  J^o  action  was  taken,  however,  till  1859, 
when  a  permanent  town  school  library  fund  was  established. 
For  this  was  set  aside  ten  per  cent,  of  the  school  fund  income,, 
and  a  special  state  tax  of  one-tenth  mill  on  the  dollar  was 
levied.  The  books  were  to  be  purchased  by  public  authority,, 
not  by  local  boards.  The  state  laws,  and  the  journals  and 
documents  of  both  houses  of  the  legislature,  were  to  be  sup- 
plied to  all  school  libraries.  Curiously  enough,  no  specific 
provisions  were  made  for  the  distribution  of  the  fund  thus 
formed,  and  it  accumulated  for  three  years. 

The  enormous  expenses  of  the  civil  war  made  such  de- 
mands upon  the  state  treasury  that  the  legislature  of  1862' 
unconditionally  repealed  the  law,  and  ordered  the  transfer 
to  the  general  fund  of  the  library  money  that  had  accrued 

*Hupt.  Pub.  Iiistr.,  18.52,  p.  15. 
tWis.  School  I^ws,  1854,  Sec.  74. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  73 

from  the  tax,  and  to  the  school  fund  of  the  money  that  had 
been  taken  therefrom.  The  total  amount  so  transferred 
March  31,  1862,  was  $88,784.78.* 

The  natural  results  of  this  action  were  soon  apparent  in 
the  rapid  diminution  of  the  school  libraries,  both  in  size 
and  number.  In  1874  there  were  reported  in  the  twenty- 
four  cities  of  Wisconsin  only  1,840  volumes,  worth  less  than 
$3,000 — a  paltr}'  and  disgraceful  showing.f  "  For  eleven 
years  the  towns  have  had  the  privilege  of  establishing  town 
libraries,!  and  only  26  report  the  acceptance  of  the  system. 
Only  328  districts  in  the  counties  report  such  libraries,  and 
only  19  are  reported  in  the  independent  cities."§  The  state 
superintendent  in  1875  recommended  that  the  excellent  law 
of  1859  be  re-enacted,  with  one  modification — that  state  aid 
be  so  given  as  to  stimulate  local  action.  In  1880  the  num- 
ber of  .districts  reporting  libraries  was  only  273,  with  15,- 
850  volumes.  In  1886  there  were  363  districts  with  libraries 
containing  24,464  volumes;  and  but  one  county,  Walworth, 
reported  any  town  libraries. 

Finally,  action  was  taken  by  the  state  to  remedy  this 
digraceful  condition  of  the  libraries,  and  an  act  was  passed 
in  188711  authorizing  the  treasurer  of  each  town  to  "  with- 
hold annually  from  the  several  school  districts  of  his  town, 
one-twentieth  of  the  school  fund  income  appropriated  thereto, 
together  with  one-twentieth  of  all  county  and  town  taxes  for 
schools."  This  was  amended  in  1889,  by  changing  the  sum 
withheld  to  ten  cents  for  each  person  of  school  age  residing 
in  such  districts.  As  results  of  this  law,  26  towns  pur- 
chased school  libraries  in  1887,  48  towns  in  1888  and  294  in 
1890.  In  all,  671  towns  have  complied  with  the  law,  and 
the  number  of  volumes  purchased  since  1887  aggregates 
54,265.  By  1892  the  district  libraries  contained  28,579  vol- 
umes, of  which  6,273  volumes  were  purchased  in  1892.  The 
state  superintendent  issues  a  carefull}'  prepared  list  of  books 
from  which  town  clerks  and  county  superintendents  make 
selections.  The  independent  cities  report  42,650  volumes  in 
their  libraries  for  1892.  The  system  has  thus  far  worked 
well,  and  districts  show  increasing  interest  in  this  direc- 
tion. 


*Supt.  Pub.  Ingtr.,  1875,  p.  &5. 
fWis.  Jotir.  of  Ediic,  June,  1875. 
tLaws,  18()8,  Ch.  174. 
ISupt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1878,  p.  31. 
II  Laws  1887,  Ch.  42H. 


74  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

XIV. — RELIGIOUS    INSTRUCTION. 

The  state  constitution  required  that  no  sectarian  instruc- 
tion should  be  allowed  in  the  common  schools  or" the  state 
university — a  principle  which  has  been  carried  out  in  our 
educational  system,  though  in  recent  years  it  has  received  a 
new  interpretation.  The  early  settlers  were  largely  Ameri- 
can Protestants,  and  very  naturally  continued  the  custom, 
prevalent  in  so  many  eastern  localities,  of  opening  the 
school  sessions  with  religious  exercises.  As  the  foreign 
element  increased,  and  not  only  Protestants,  but  Catholics, 
Jews,  and  Free-thinkers  sent  their  children  to  the  public 
schools,  objections  to  this  custom  arose.  No  statute  has 
regulated  it,  for  it  is  simply  one  of  the  details  of  school 
management  that  are  left  to  the  discretion  of  district  boards. 
In  the  exercise  of  that  discretion,  they  have  in  most  places 
discontinued  the  practice. 

In  this  connection  especial  interest  attaches  to  the  fam- 
ous "  Edgerton  Bible  case,"  which  arose  in  1889.  Two  of  the 
teachers  in  the  city  of  Edgerton  opened  the  daily  sessions  of 
their  schools  by  reading  .selections  from  the  King  James 
Bible.  Some  Catholic  parents  objected,  and  applied  to  the 
board  of  education  to  have  the  readings  discontinued,  which 
the  board  declined  to  do.  The  parents  then  petitioned  the 
circuit  court  of  Rock  county  for  a  writ  of  mandamus  compell- 
ing the  board  to  order  the  readings  to  cease.  I^xiling  in  this, 
they  carried  the  ca.se  to  the  supreme  court  of  the  state, 
which  decided,  March  18th,  1890,  that  the  Bible  readings  as 
devotional  exercises  were  a  violation  of  the  constitutional 
prohibition  of  sectarian  instruction.* 

Religious  exercises  were  also  held  for  many  years  in 
the  state  university  and  the  normal  schools.  At  the  White- 
water normal  school  Scripture  readings  and  prayer  were 
omitted  in  1880,  ethical  lectures  and  readings  being  substi- 
tuted therefor.  In  1886,  a  member  of  the  board  of  visitors 
for  the  normal  school  at  Oshkosh  made  objections  to  the 
religious  exercises  by  which  the  sessions  of  that  school  were 
opened.  Continued  public  controversy  was  aroused,  which 
finally  led  to  the  discontinuance  of  the  custom.  The  normal 
school  at  Platteville,  however,  did  not  drop  its  religious 
exercises  till  1890.  At  the  state  university,  chapel  exercises 
were  held,  though  attendance  was  optional.  The  board  of 
visitors  reported  in  1880  that  "  less  than  thirty  students  out 

♦Bible  in  the  public  schools  (State  Hist.  Soc.  of  Wis). 


GENERAL    SKETCH    OF    EDUCATIONAL    HISTORY.  75 

of  four  liiindred  to  five  hundred,  attended  chapel;  and 
they  thouglit  it  better  to  discontinue  the  exercises,  if  so  httle 
interest  were  shown."     This  was  done  about  1884. 

It  has  been  felt,  by  many  prominent  educators,  that 
some  systematic  instruction  in  ethics  should  be  given  in  the 
public  schools,  and  individual  teachers  here  and  there  have 
attempted  to  meet  the  need  :  but  thus  far  it  has  not  become 
a  part  of  our  educational  plan. 

XV. — MISCELLANEOUS. 

A  kindergarten  school  was  opened  in  the  First  ward  of 
Milwaukee,  in  1872,  with  70  })upils — so  far  as  is  known  the 
first  kindergailen  in  Wisconsin.  Another  was  opened  the 
next  year,  in  the  Tenth  ward,  with  43  pupils.  Both  these 
were  German  ;  but  an  English  kindergarten  was  opened  in 
the  Seventh  ward  in  1874  with  21  pupils.  In  1878  there 
were  five  of  these  schools,  with  an  enrollment  of  300 
pupils.* 

The  establishment  of  kindergartens  in  the  normal 
schools  and  other  state  institutions  has  been  already  men- 
tioned, beginning  with  1880,  the  year  when  one  was  opened 
in  the  Oshkosh  normal  school.  Their  number  has  increased 
from  year  to  year  until,  in  1892,  there  are  53  public  kinder- 
gartens reported,  with  90  teachers  and  6,230  pupils.  These 
schools  are  located  in  the  following  cities :  Milwaukee  (28), 
Sheboygan  (5),  West  Superior  (7),  Prairie  du  Chien,  White- 
water, Appleton,  Beloit,  Wausau,  Ashland,  Tomah,  Colum- 
bus, Berlin,  AVatertown  and  Janesville.f  There  are  also 
private  kindergartens  in  various  places  not  reported  in  the 
above  figures. 

Evening  schools  have  been  opened  in  some  of  the  lar- 
ger manufacturing  cities.  In  1880  the  following  were  re- 
ported :  Watertown,  one  school,  with  84  pupils ;  La  Crosse, 
one  school,  75  pupils,  and  Sheboygan,  two  schools,  40  pupils. 
The  next  ^ear  Watertown  had  li5  pupils  and  La  Crosse  80  ; 
while  Milwaukee  opened  its  evening  schools,  13  in  number, 
with  2,030  in  attendance. 

The  subject  of  industrial  training  in  schools  has  attrac- 
ted much  attention  among  educators  in  late  years.  Several 
local  experiments  have  been  very  successful ;  but  such 
training  has  not  yet  become  a  part  of  our  school  system. 
At  the   meeting  of  the  state  teachers'  association,  in  1882, 

*Reports  of  Milwaukee  School  Board, 
t^iipt.  Pub.  Inptr.,  1892. 


76  GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY. 

a  very  interesting  and  creditable  exhibit  was  made  by  the 
pupils  of  the  city  schools  of  Janesville.  It  included  "not 
only  their  ordinary  school  work,  but  products  of  handicraft, 
showing  acquaintance  with  the  mechanism  and  skill  in 
producing  the  implements,  machines,  furniture  and  decora- 
tive, culinary  and  housekeeping  articles."  A  similar  exhibit 
was  made  before  the  association,  in  1886,  by  the  West  side 
schools  of  Eau  Claire.  Their  manual  training  department 
was  begun  in  1885,  and  the  work  was  done  under  the  charge 
of  a  teacher  from  the  manual  training  department  of  Wash- 
ington university  at  St.  Louis.*  President  Salisbury,  of  the 
Whitewater  normal  school,  stated  in  his  report  for  1886  that 
a  small  experiment  had  been  made  in  that  school,  for  the 
past  three  years,  by  attaching  a  work-shop  to  their  depart- 
ment of  physics,  with  highly  beneficial  results  upon  the 
training  of  the  normal  students.  A  similar  experiment  was 
carried  on  in  the  normal  school  at  Milwaukee.  In  the  latter 
city  manual  training  was  introduced  in  the  high  school  in 
September,  1891,  as  a  part  of  the  regular  course  of  study. 
Milwaukee  has  also  two  cooking  schools,  which  have  been 
very  successful,  with  125  and  150  pupils  respectively. 

In  the  city  of  Menomonie  is  a  manual  training  school, 
belonging  to  the  public  school  system  of  the  city,  but  the 
gift  of  a  generous  private  citizen.  A  spacious  and  handsome 
building  hasjust  been  finished,  fully  equipped  with  machin- 
ery and  all  other  needed  appliances,  and  given  to  the  city 
for  the  benefit  of  all  its  children.  Here  will  be  given,  as  a 
part  of  the  high  school  training,  courses  in  drawing,  model- 
ing and  wood-carving ;  carpentry,  wood-turning  and  pattern- 
making  ;  molding,  casting,  forging  and  machine  work  in 
metal ;  sewing,  dress-making  and  cooking ;  hygiene  and  lab- 
oratory work  in  physics  and  chemistry.  The  department 
of  mathematics  is  under  the  charge  of  a  graduate  of  the 
Worcester  polytechnic  school. f  The  result  of  this  enter- 
prise will  be  highly  interesting  to  all  friends  of  the  "  new 
education."  The  second  district  of  the  cit}-  of  Appleton  has 
also  a  manual  training  department  in  its  high  school. 

An  educational  exhibit  was  made  by  Wisconsin  at  the 
Centennial  of  1876,  which  attracted  much  attention  and 
favorable  comment.  It  included  educational  maps ;  statis- 
tical reports  of  the  school  system  (acknowledged  to  be  the 
finest  collection  of  the  kind  exhibited);  work  of  pupils  from 

*  Supt.  Pub.  Instr.  1882,  p.  30;  1886,  p.  48. 

t  Worcester  (Mass.)  Daily  Spy,  November  30, 1892. 


GENERAL   SKETCH   OF   EDUCATIONAL   HISTORY.  77 

the  schools,  an  especially  fine  display  from  those  of  Milwau- 
kee ;  books,  pamphlets,  etc.  These  exhibits  were  sent  to  the 
Paris  exposition  of  1878 ;  and  nearly  all  the  articles  were 
donated  to  the  French  government,  to  be  deposited  in  the 
Pedagogical  museum  in  the  Palais  Royal  at  Paris.* 

Our  schools  were  even  more  creditably  represented  at 
the  National  Centennial  school  exposition,  held  at  Chicago 
in  July,  1887,  to  celebrate  tlie  centennial  of  the  ordinance 
of  1787.  The  state  legislature  appropriated  $2,000  to  aid  in 
preparing  a  suitable  exhibit  of  Wisconsin's  school  system. 
Among  the  notable  features  of  this  exhibit,  a  few  deserve 
special  mention.  The  Whitewater  normal  school  sent  a  col- 
lection of  clay  moldings  and  shop  work,  including  some 
fine  lathe  work  and  philosophical  instruments,  well  finished. 
Calumet  county  showed  some  philosophical  instruments 
made  without  tools,  except  a  penknife  and  hammer — inclu- 
ding a  suction  pump,  camera  obscura,  wheel  and  axle^ 
pulleys,  etc.  Fort  Atkinson,  Janesville,  Marinette  and 
Whitewater  public  schools  sent  admirable  analyses  and 
drawings  in  the  natural  sciences.  Fond  du  Lac  showed 
work  with  penknife  and  with  needle,  and  geometric  models 
of  tin  and  wire.  West  Eau  Claire  exhibited  the  only  sys- 
tematic and  continuous  effort  in  industrial  training,  including 
excellent  specimens  of  bench  work,  sewing,  knitting,  etc. 
The  state  charitable  institutions  made  fine  displays  of  work 
done  by  the  pupils,  of  which  the  school  for  the  blind  sent 
models  in  clay,  rugs,  hammocks,  toy  furniture,  and  among 
its  kindergarten  work  one  original  design  in  color.f 

*  Supt.  Pub.  Instr.,  1878,  p.  36. 

t  Supt.  of  Pub.  Instr.,  1888,  pp.  29,  102. 


Early  Schools  in  Wisconsin.* 


The  first  schools  in  Wisconsin  were  those  conducted  for 
the  rehgious  instruction  of  Indian  youth  by  Jesuit  priests, 
sent  hither  as  agents  of  France,  charged  with  the  double 
mission  of  extending  the  dominionof  the  church,  and  strength- 
ening that  of  the  king.  It  is  not  probable  that  Father  Rene 
Menard — who  lost  his  life  in  1662,  while  seeking  Huron 
fugitives  from  Iroquois  wrath,  at  the  source  of  the  Black 
river — had  any  opportunity  in  his  laborious  journey  of 
exercising  his  pedagogical  talents  upon  Wisconsin  soil.  But 
when,  in  1665,  Father  Claude  Allouez  organized  the  mission 
of  La  Pointe,  on  the  mainland  near  the  future  site  of  Ash- 
land, on  Chequamegon  bay,  he  drew  pupils  from  tribes 
scattered  all  the  way  from  Hudson  bay  to  the  Ohio,  and 
from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Red  River  of  the  Xorth.  There 
were  no  entrance  examinations,  the  curriculum  was  meagre, 
and  the  attendance  spasmodic;  yet  few  modern  teachers 
have  the  persistent  zeal  of  those  hardy  disciples  of  Loyola, 
whose  pioneer  missions  were  churches,  schools,  and  trading 
posts  combined.  Allouez  had  large  congregations  of  naked 
savages,  the  representatives  of  many  far-spread  tribes,  who 
came  to  stare  with  open-mouthed  wonder  at  his  glittering 
altar  ornaments  and  silken  vesture,  as  well  as  to  barter  for 
utensils,  weapons,  and  ornaments  of  European  manufacture. 
Yet  he  made  little  headway  among  them,  being  consoled 
for  his  hardships  and  ill-treatment  by  the  devotion  of  a 
mere  handful  of  insignificant  followers. 

Allouez  labored  thus,  alone  in  the  wilderness,  hoping 
against  hope,  for  four  years,  varying  the  monotony  of  his 
dreary  task  by  occasional  canoe  trips  to  Quebec,  to  report 
progress  to  his  superior.     In  1669  he  was  relieved  by  Father 

*L  have  drawn  my  information  from  manv  sources,  chiefly  :  Early 
History  of  Education  in  Wisconsin,  by  W.  C.  Whitford,"  in  Wis. 
Hist.  Colls,  v.,  pp.  321-351  ;  the  same  author's  Historical  Sketch  of 
Education  in  Wisconsin  (Madison,  1876)  ;  Western  Historical  Com- 
pany's History  of  Milwaukee  (1881),  and  History  of  Columbia  County, 
(1880)  ;  History  of  Crawford  and  Richland  Counties,  (Springfield,  111., 
1884)  ;  Thwaites'  Story  of  Wisconsin,  (Boston,  1890)  ;  and  scattering 
volumes  of  Wisconsin  Historical  Collections — Vol.  XII.  of  which  has 
some  curious  documents  relative  to  early  Green  Bay  schools. 

78 


EARLY   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN.  79 

Jacques  Marquette,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  the  hybrid  Indian 
village  on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Depere,  at  the  first  rapids 
in  the  Fox  river,  where  he  opened  the  lonely  mission  of  St. 
Francis  Xavier,  the  second  Jesuit  establishment  within  what 
is  now  Wisconsin.  Here  again  he  instructed  Indian  youth 
in  the  elements  of  his  faith,  and  sought  with  ill  success  to 
•convert  the  elders.  In  the  .spring  of  1670  he  founded  St. 
Mark,  on  Wolf  river,  among  the  Chippewas.  The  same 
year,  the  raging  Sioux  drove  the  La  Pointe  Indians,  wdth 
their  teacher,  Marquette,  eastward  along  the  southern  shore 
of  Lake  Superior,  like  leaves  before  the  autumn  blast,  and 
the  fugitives  did  not  stop  until  they  reached  Mackinaw. 
The  Roman  Catholic  mission  at  La  Pointe  was  not  re-estab- 
lished until  a  hundred  and  seventy  years  later,  and  then  not 
on  the  mainland,  but  on  Madelaine  island. 

The  following  year  (1671),  Father  Louis  Andre  went  to 
Depere  to  succeed  Allouez  as  chief  ministrant  at  St.  Francis 
Xavier  and  St.  Mark,  leaving  the  latter  to  rove  at  will 
:among  the  Foxes,  the  Illinois,  and  neighboring  tribes — ^the 
first  regularly-installed  itinerant  preacher  in  Wisconsin. 
We  are  told  that  Andre  was  particularly  successful  with  the 
<;hildren  at  Depere  rapids,  where  he  taught  them  to  sing, 
to  orthodox  psalm  tunes,  while  he  accompanied  them  with 
more  or  less  harmony  upon  the  flute,  certain  spirited  songs 
of  his  own  composition,  ridiculing  savage  superstition. 
Allouez  and  Andre  remained  for  several  years  in  the  Wis- 
•consin  wilds,  achieving  more  or  less  success  in  a  spasmodic 
fashion  ;  but  with  the  advent  of  the  professional  fur-traders 
of  New  France,  who  closely  followed  upon  their  steps — such 
men  as  Perrot,  Du  Lhut,  and  La  Salle — the  comparative 
importance  of  the  missions  lessened,  and  in  time  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  early  heroic  type  disappeared  from  the 
pages  of  our  history. 

The  early  French  fur-traders  were  educated  about  as  well 
as  men  of  their  class  would  be  to-day.  The  coureurs  des 
t)ois,  or  unlicensed  rovers,  although  nominally  outlaws  be- 
cause of  their  illicit  traffic  under  a  government  which 
fostered  commercial  monopolies  of  every  kind,  were  not  a 
l)ad  cla.ss  of  fellows,  and  the  manuscript  letters  and  journals 
which  some  of  them  have  left  behind  are  in  the  main 
oreditable  productions.  They  were  educated  either  in 
France,  or  at  Montreal  or  Quebec  ;  and  even  the  voyageurs, 
or  common  helpers,  had  a  sufficient  smattering  of  the  three 
R's  to  serve   them  in  a  primitive  community.     Doubtless 


80  EARLY   SCHOOLS  IN    WISCONSIN. 

there  was  more  or  less  private  tutoring,  of  a  crude  sort,  for 
the  children  occasionally  present  at  the  early  French  trading 
posts  on  Lake  Pepin  (Fort  St.  Antoine),  at  Green  Bay  (Fort 
St.  Francis),  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin,  at  La  Pointe,, 
and  elsewhere,  but  no  trace  of  anything  in  the  nature  of  a 
regular  school  can  be  found. 

It  was  not  until  about  1745  that  a  permanent  white 
settlement  was  formed  in  Wisconsin,  by  the  removal  to 
Green  Bay  from  Mackinaw  of  the  household  establishment 
of  Augustine  de  Langlade  and  his  son  Charles — the  latter  a 
famous  fur-trader  who  had  been  prominent  on  the  Penn- 
sylvania border  as  a  partisan  leader  of  Indian  war  parties 
from  Wisconsin ;  and  who  was  destined  to  become  yet  more 
noted  as  the  head  of  those  savage  allies  of  the  French  who 
were  to  catch  Braddock  in  his  slaughter  pen  and  bear  away 
to  their  rude  lodges  in  the  trans-Michigan  woods  a  goodly 
share  of  the  scalps  and  spoils  won  by  them  on  that  fateful 
day.  Augustine  was  educated  in  France,  and  Charles  at 
Mackinaw,  and  among  their  followers  were  fur-trade  clerks 
capable  of  preparing  the  younger  children  of  their  masters 
for  the  schools  of  Quebec  and  ^lontreal,  and  of  sufficiently 
instructing  the  others  for  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life. 

In  1791,  we  hear  of  Jacques  Porlier,  a  connection  of  the 
Langlades  and  the  Grignons — the  families  of  the  little  Creole 
settlement  were  much  intermingled  by  marriage — conduct- 
ing a  school  at  Green  Bay.  Possibly  he  was  the  first  profes- 
sional pedagogue  in  Wisconsin — although  Augustin  Grignon, 
the  chronicler  of  the  later  fur-trading  days,  says :  "They  had 
no  early  schools  at  Green  Bay — none  till  after  the  coming  of 
the  American  troops"  (1816).  Commencing  with  1817,, 
manuscripts  in  the  possession  of  the  Wisconsin  Historical 
Society  enable  us  to  closely  follow  the  Green  Bay  schools 
through  their  varying  fortunes.  In  that  year,  Thomas  S. 
Johnson  engaged  "to  teach  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  and 
the  English  language  in  the  vicinity  of  Green  Bay,"  for  "the 
sum  of  six  dollars  for  each  scholar  per  quarter,"  which  was 
fairly  profitable  for  him,  as  he  obtained  thirty -three  pupils. 
In  1820,  one  Jean  Baptiste  St.  Jacobs  was  the  pedagogue,  and 
the  agreement  drawn  up  between  him  and  his  patrons  stipu- 
lates that  the  latter  are  to  pay  "twenty  dollars  for  one  child, 
and  quantity  of  vegitables,"  and  provide  a  school-room  free  of 
expense.  The  year  following,  Mr.  St.  Jacobs  bewails  his  sad 
lot  in  a  letter  to  John  Lawe,  the  leading  inhabitant  of  those 
days,  saying:  "I  have  twenty-four  Scholars  but  I  suppose  half 


EARLY   SCHOOLS  IN   WISCONSIN.  81 

will  pay  and  the  others  will  not  pay  verry  well,"  and  confess- 
ing that  he  himself  is  "a  poor  reatch."  In  1823,  affairs  in  the 
Green  Bay  school  were  at  a  sorry  pass,  St.  Jacobs  writing  to 
Lawe  from  his  retreat  on  "Manomenie  River,"  that  had  he 
"been  incourage  to  keep  a  school  at  the  Bay  I  should  be  there 
yet,  but  one  Gallon  Pease  15  lbs.  Pork  per  Month  was  not 
anueff  to  supp  me.  I  got  drunk  to  drop  the  school  as  I  could 
not  make  a  Lively  wood  on  one  Gallon  Pease  15  lbs.  Pork  per 
Month,  and  could  not  get  Wood  from  Mr.  Gorbut." 

Amos  Holton,  who  at  least  knew  how  to  spell,  succeeded 
St.  Jacob  (1823),  and  taught  twenty-five  scholars  at  four  dol- 
lars per  quarter,  the  patrons  to  furnish  and  heat  a  room. 
The  year  following,  a  post  school  was  opened  across  the 
river,  at  Fort  Howard,  for  the  instruction  of  children  con- 
nected with  the  garrison,  to  which  a  few  outsiders  were 
admitted.  In  1825  the  Green  Bay  schoolmaster  was  Daniel 
Curtis,  formerly  a  captain  in  the  regular  army  ;  he  had  kept 
school  at  Prairie  du  Chien  the  year  previous.  In  1828  the 
five  American  families  at  Shanty  Town,  now  a  part  of  Green 
Bay,  erected  a  log  school  house  and  imported  a  young  lady 
teacher  from  the  east — Miss  Caroline  Russell.  In  the  same 
year.  Electa  Quinney,  a  Stockbridge  Indian,  was  teaching  a 
small  school  on  the  bank  of  the  Fox  river,  near  where  Kau- 
kauna  now  is;  her  pupils  were  chiefly  Indian  children, 
although  a  few  whites  were  admitted.  One  of  them  records 
with  affection,  in  his  tribute  to  her  memory :  "We  all  liked 
her ;  it  was  very  seldom  that  she  whipped  us." 

The  first  post  school  at  Fort  Crawford  (Prairie  du  Chien) 
was  established  as  early  as  1817,  an  educated  sergeant  named 
Reeseden  being  the  teacher,  and  the  enterprise  was  main- 
tained for  many  years  under  various  masters,  as  a  feature  of 
garrison  life.  In  May,  1818,  a  private  school  was  opened  at 
Prairie  du  Chien  by  Willard  Keyes,  who  had  about  thirty 
scholars,  "  mostly  bright  and  active,  at  two  dollars  per 
month."  A  year  later,  however,  he  moved  to  Illinois,  find- 
ing it  "  of  no  use  to  remain  longer  in  this  expensive  place." 

At  Fort  Winnebago  (Portage),  Miss  Eliza  Haight  opened 
a  school  in  1835,  primarily  for  Major  John  Green's  children, 
but  other  garrison  children  were  admitted.  By  1840,  this 
post  school,  while  in  the  charge  of  Chaplain  S.  P.  Keyes,  con- 
tained forty  pupils. 

The  opening  of  the  lead  district  in  southwestern  Wis- 
consin, in  1827,  was  followed  by  the  establishment  there  of 
numerous  towns,  the  founders  of  which  were  men  of  more 


82  EARLY  SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

than  ordinary  education  and  ability.  The  first  school  house 
in  the  region  was  built  at  Mineral  Point  in  1830,  and  the 
second  at  Platteville  three  years  later. 

It  is  computed  that  in  1836,  the  year  of  the  organiza- 
tion of  Wisconsin  territory,  there  were  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  state  a  population  of  nine  thousand  whites,  sup- 
porting "  eight  small  private  schools,  and  two  hundred  and 
seventy-five  pupils  attending  them."  These  were  the  schools 
at  Green  Bay,  Portage,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Mineral  Point, 
Platteville,  Milwaukee  (1835),  Kenosha  (December,  1835),  and 
Sheboygan  (winter  of  1836-37).  The  Madison  school  was 
not  opened  until  March  1,  1838.  It  was  not  until  1839  that 
taxes  for  public  schools  became  generally  available  in  the 
territory,  and  until  then  most  schools  were  maintained  by 
fees  levied  upon  the  parents  of  the  children ;  and,  indeed, 
in  many  communities,  the  public  funds  had,  after  that  date, 
frequently  to  be  supplemented  by  popular  subscriptions. 

No  notice  of  early  schools  in  Wisconsin  is  complete 
without  reference  to  the  modern  mission  schools  for  Indians, 
the  spiritual  successors  of  the  Jesuit  schools  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Readers  of  Wisconsin  history  will  remem- 
ber the  part  played  by  Rev.  Eleazer  Williams  (Episcopalian), 
the  pretended  dauphin  of  France,  in  removing  to  the  Fox 
river  valley,  in  Wisconsin,  members  of  certain  tribes  of 
New  York  Indians.  In  1823  he  opened  a  school  on  the  Fort 
Howard  side  of  the  river,  where  he  taught  some  fifty  chil- 
dren, chiefly  Creoles  and  half-breeds;  his  assistant  for  several 
years  was  Andrew  G.  Ellis,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
"  Estimates  of  Williams'  Character,"  in  the  Wisconsin  His- 
torical Collections. 

In  1827,  Rev.  Richard  F.  Cadle  was  sent  out  to  Green 
Bay  by  the  missionary  society  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  to  conduct  a  school  at  Green  Bay  for  Indian  and 
half-breed  children  between  four  and  fourteen  years  of  age. 
In  buildings  costing  $9,000,  Mr.  Cadle  not  only  taught  but 
lodged  and  fed  his  dusky  flock,  which  in  1831  numbered 
one  hundred  and  twenty-nine.  There  were  at  one  time 
seven  teachers,  and  branches  were  opened  at  Duck  Creek 
and  Neenah.  Although  intelligently  conducted  and  gen- 
erously supported,  the  enterprise  failed  after  a  protracted 
trial  of  sixteen  years. 

Between  1830  and  1834,  there  was  an  attempt,  near 
Green  Bay,  at  first  promising,  but  finally  unsuccessful,  to 
revive  the  operations  of  the  early  Catholic  missionaries.     An 


EARLY   SCHOOLS   IN    WISCONSIN.  83 

Italian  priest,  Father  Mazzuchelli,  was  in  charge,  but  even 
government  aid  failed  to  make  the  enterprise  prosper. 

Pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Rock  Island 
(September  15,  1832),  a  school  for  the  education,  boarding, 
and  lodging  of  Winnebago  children  was  in  1832  opened  by 
the  government  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Rev.  David  Lowrey,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian 
minister.  The  school,  never  very  successful,  was  several 
times  removed,  LoMrey  remaining  with  his  wards  until 
their  removal  to  Dakota  in  18G3. 

In  August,  1831,  a  congregational  mission  was  founded 
-on  Madelaine  island  (the  La  Pointe  of  to-day),  by  Rev. 
Sherman  Hall.  A  feature  of  the  enterprise  was  a  school  for 
the  instruction  of  Indian  youth,  which  soon  averaged  twenty- 
five  scholars.  In  connection  with  this  mission,  there  was 
organized  in  August,  1833,  the  first  Congregational  church 
within  the  present  limits  of  Wisconsin.  A  Roman  Catholic 
mission  was  begun  on  the  island  by  Bishop  Baraga,  in  July, 
1835,  which  was  soon  housed  in  a  log  chapel.  The  remains 
of  this  building  are  to-day  shown  to  credulous  tourists  as  the 
relics  of  Fatlier  Marquette's  mission  house.  It  is  perhaps 
needless  to  remind  the  reader,  that  the  La  Pointe  of  Mar- 
■quette's  day  was  on  the  mainland,  some  sixteen  miles  dis- 
tant, and  that  no  relics  of  his  work  in  Wisconsin  are  known 
to  exist. — Reuben  Gold  Thwaites, 


COLLEGES,  UNIVERSITIES  AND  ACADEMIES. 


The  University  of  Wisconsin. 


Madison,  the  capital  of  the  state  of  "Wisconsin,  is  situ- 
ated about  forty  miles  from  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
state,  and  midway  between  Lake  Michigan  and  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  The  region  round  about  is  known  as  the  Four 
Lake  Country ;  so  named  from  four  lakes  that,  like  great 
pearls,  have  been  strung  on  the  Yahara  river.  The  largest 
of  these  lakes,  the  fourth  lake,  known  commonh'  by  its  In- 
dian name  of  "Mendota,"  is  about  six  miles  long  from  east 
to  west,  and  four  miles  wide.  The  shore  line  is  irregular  ;  it 
rises  into  bluffs  and  forest-covered  hills  or  slopes  gradually 
away  from  the  water's  edge  into  beautiful  farms  and  mead- 
ows. 

About  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  the  eastern  shore  of 
Mendota  lies  Third  lake.  It  is  three  miles  long  from 
north  to  south,  and  has  an  average  width  of  one  and  a  half 
miles.  The  Indian,  with  a  true  poetic  sense,  called  the  lake 
"Monona,"  or  "Fairy  lake ;"  and  no  one  who  has  seen  the 
lake  in  June,  when  the  shadows  are  most  at  play,  or  has 
seen  it  shimmering  in  the  moonlight,  ever  thought  it  mis- 
named. On  the  strip  of  land  between  these  two  lakes,  and 
westward  along  the  southern  shore  of  Mendota  is  situated 
Wisconsin's  capital  city. 

In  1829,  Jefferson  Davis,  with  a  file  of  soldiers,  while  on 
a  march  from  the  Portage  of  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox  rivers 
to  the  village  of  Chicago  halted  at  the  point  where  Madison 
now  stands.  He  claimed  to  be  the  first  white  man  who  ever 
looked  upon  the  Four  Lake  Countr}-. 

As  early  as  1835,  this  spot,  while  yet  in  the  center  of  a 
wilderness,  was  chosen  as  the  proper  site  for  the  capital  of 
the  new  territor3\  Its  picturesque  beauty  has  always  been 
recognized.  Horace  Greeley  said,  "  Madison  has  the  most 
magnificent  site  of  any  inland  town  I  oversaw."  Longfellow 
broke  into  song — 

"  Four  limpid  lakes — four  Naides 
Or  sylvan  deities  are  these, 

In  flowing  robes  of  azure  dressed  ; 
Four  lovely  handmaids,  that  uphold 
Their  shining  mirrors,  rimmed  with  gold, 

To  the  fair  city  in  the  West. 

87 


88  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

By  day  the  coursers  of  the  sun 
Drink  of  these  waters  as  they  run 

Their  swift  diurnal  rounds  on  high  ; 
By  niglit  the  constellations  glow 
Far  down  the  hollow  deeps  below, 

And  glimmer  in  another  sky. 

Fair  lakes,  serene  and  full  of  light — 
Fair  town,  arrayed  in  robes  of  white, 

How  visionary  ye  appear  ! 
All  like  a  floating  landscape  seems 
In  cloudland  or  the  land  of  dreams, 

Bathed  in  a  golden  atmosphere !  " 

And  what  could  Madison  do  but  modestly  "blush  at  the 
praise  of  her  own  loveliness  ?"  Unfortunately,  she  came  to 
believe  that  "beauty  unadorned  is  adorned  the  most,"  for- 
getting that  both  cities  and  civilizations  are  governed  by  a 
different  law.  Only  within  the  past  two  or  three  years  has 
she  really  added  anything  to  her  original  endowment  of 
beauty ;  but  now  the  spirit  of  improvement  is  abroad. 
With  excellent  gas  and  water,  with  electric  light  and  electric 
railway,  have  come  macadam  streets,  mile  upon  mile.  The 
rage  for  good  roads  has  so  possessed  her  that  the  principal 
avenues  leading  out  from  the  capital  will,  before  long,  be 
made  hard  and  smooth  far  beyond  the  city  limits.  A  beau- 
tiful pleasure  drive  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  long  has  just 
been  opened  ;  it  passes  through  the  university  grounds  and 
westward  close  by  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Mendota,  and 
returns  along  a  high  ridge  or  line  of  hills  parallel  wnth  the 
lake  shore,  and  some  two  or  three  miles  distant,  furnishing 
a  series  of  views  of  lakes  and  forests  and  undulating  farm 
lands  that  can  scarcely  be  surpassed. 

The  city  is  built  mainh'  on  and  about  two  hills.  One 
of  these,  midway  between  lakes  Monona  and  Mendota,  is 
crowned  by  the  state  capitol,  and  the  other,  on  the  southern 
shore  of  Mendota,  b}'^  the  state  universit}'  buildings.  Some 
smaller  hills  render  the  site  undulating,  if  you  put  it  mildly; 
the  cyclist  insists  that  it  is  abominably  hilly,  but  the  true 
Madisonian  thinks  it  just  hilly  enough  to  be  picturesque. 
Here  at  this  political  and  educational  center  are  some 
sixteen  thousand  people. 

As  early  as  1838,  at  the  first  meeting  of  the  territorial 
legislature,  an  act  was  passed  creating  the  "university  of 
the  territory  of  Wisconsin."  A  board  of  visitors  was 
appointed  by  the  legislature,  and  the  territorial  delegate  in 


THE   UNIVERSITY    OF   WISCONSIN. 


89 


the  National  Congress  was  instructed  to  ask  of  the  general 
government,  as  an  endowment  for  the  said  university, 
seventy-two  sections  of  land.  The  request  of  the  delegates 
was  granted,  and  in  1838,  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  was 
instructed  to  set  apart  two  full  townships  for  the  support  of 
a  university,  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose  whatsoever. 
These  lands  might  be  selected  in  seventy-two  parcels,  each 
containing  one  section,  and  not  in  two  full  townships  in  a 
single  parcel,  as  had  been  the  rule  in  former  appropriations 
to  other  territories  or  states  for  a  similar  purpose.     Thus  the 


territory  might  select  for  its  university  the  choicest  of  the 
unappropriated  lands. 

This  was  the  very  beginning  of  the  Wisconsin  state 
university,  but  no  buildings  began  to  rise ;  no  faculty  was 
yet  chosen.  The  whole  territory  was  one  great  wilderness, 
and  a  higher  institution  of  learning  must  have  seemed  to 
the  hardy  frontiersmen  the  very  last  thing  they  needed. 

The  board  of  visitors,  or  regents,  as  they  were  called 
later,  had,  indeed,  no  duties,  but  they  enjoy  the  distinction 
of  being  the  only  governing  board  of  the  university  that 
has  not  had  more  or  less  adverse  criticism.     The  new  grant 


00  THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

of  land  was  not  placed  under  their  control,  the}^  had  no 
moneys  to  expend ;  and  yet  they  performed  a  great  service 
to  education.  They  kept  the  idea  of  a  university,  a  higher 
institution  of  learning  managed  and  controlled  by  the  state, 
before  the  people. 

In  1840  commissioners  were  appointed  by  the  territorial 
governor  to  locate  a  portion  of  these  lands,  not  exceeding 
two-thirds,  thus  granted  for  the  support  of  a  university,  and 
by  the  time  the  territory  became  a  state,  the  entire  46,080 
acres  had  been  located.  When  the  territory  became  a  state, 
in  1848,  the  new  constitution  provided  that  the  grant  of  land 
made  in  1838  should  be  the  basis  for  the  support  of  a  state 
university.  The  lands  were  at  once  appraised,  and,  although 
the  commissioners  were  sworn  to  appraise  at  a  fair  valuation, 
yet  the  desire  to  offer  cheap  lands  to  the  immigrants,  and 
thus  build  up  the  material  prosperity  of  the  commonwealth, 
was  so  great  that  the  rights  of  the  university  that  was  to  be 
were  ignored.  The  same  crime  had  been  committed  before, 
and  has  been  committed  since  in  other  territories  and  states. 
The  few  friends  of  the  university  protested,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose. The  board  of  regents,  created  by  the  new  constitu- 
tion, called  the  attention  of  the  legislature  to  this  palpable 
violation  of  trust,  and,  in  1850,  it  seemed  that  a  reform 
was  about  to  be  made — the  minimum  price  of  the  lands,  ap- 
praised at  $2.78,  was  fixed  at  $10  an  acre.  But  the  reform, 
-even  if  attempted  in  good  faith,  was  not  pushed.  The 
clamor  of  the  new  settlers  for  cheap  lands  to  induce  immi- 
gration prevailed,  and  the  price  was  lowered,  and  then 
lowered  again,  until  the  prize  was  sufficiently  alluring  to 
■draw  the  crowding  immigrants  into  the  wilderness.  The 
words  of  the  congressional  grant  were  "  for  the  support 
of  the  university  and  for  no  other  purpose."  The  state 
never  claimed  any  legal  right  in  the  lands,  except  as  trustee, 
-and  yet  the  policy  of  sacrificing  the  university  lands  to  pro- 
mote immigration  continued,  and  became  the  settled  policy 
of  the  state. 

Michigan  university  from  a  similar  grant  realized  a 
permanent  fund  of  over  half  a  million  dollars,  while  the 
Wisconsin  university  received  for  her  grant  only  $150,000. 
This  sum  was  so  manifestly  inadequate  for  the  endowment 
of  a  university  that  in  1854  a  second  grant  of  72  sections 
was  obtained  from  the  general  government.  But  it  was  the 
same  old  story ;  the  lands  were  carefully  selected,  but  ap- 
praised and  sold  at  ridiculously  low  prices ;  and  even  in  1862, 


THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 


91 


when  Congress  granted  to  the  state,  by  the  agricultural 
college  act,  240,000  acres  of  land,  the  same  policy  was  for  a 
time  adhered  to. 

But  where  was  the  university  while  the  state  was  thus 
squandering  what  would  by  reasonable  care  have  made  it 
wealthy  and  powerful  ?  On  January  16,  1849,  the  regents 
began  the  work  of  organization.  For  more  than  ten  years  the 
university  had  been,  indeed,  only  an  idea,  and  even  now,  with 
no  high  schools,  no  academies,  how  could  it  have  a  real  exis- 
tence ?     The  regents,  with  great  modesty,  first  organized  a 


preparatory  school.  This  was  opened  in  185U  by  i'rotossor 
John  W.  Sterling,  in  a  building  furnished  free  of  rent  by  the 
citizens  of  Madison.  Dr.  John  H.  Lathrop  was  elected 
chancellor — chancellor  of  a  unversity  consisting  of  a  pre- 
paratory department.  His  action,  however,  was  not  prema- 
ture. The  president  of  the  university  was,  by  the  act  of 
incorporation,  ex-officio  president  of  the  board  of  regents, 
and  his  advice  and  counsel  would  be  needed  at  every  step 
in  the  organization.  In  the  following  year  the  department 
of  science,  literature  and  arts  was  organized  with  Professor 
Sterling  and  Chancellor  Lathrop  as  the  faculty.     Another 


92  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

member  was  added  in  1852,  but  it  was  not  until  1856  that  all 
the  chairs  in  the  six  departments  were  provided  for.  In 
1854,  two  young  men,  a  sort  of  first  fruits  of  the  institution, 
were  graduated,  and  the  university  was  now  indeed  estab- 
lished ;  though  it  lacked  students,  funds  and  friends. 

The  board  of  regents  at  their  first  meeting,  besides  this 
work  of  internal  organization,  bought  fifty  acres  of  land  on 
the  edge  of  the  village  for  $15  per  acre,  and  "  College  Hill," 
as  it  had  long  been  prophetically  called,  was  declared  to  be 
the  site  of  the  university. 

In  1857,  with  the  permission  of  the  legislature,  the 
regents  borrowed  |25,000  from  the  university  fund  to  con- 
struct the  first  college  building.  This  act  was  without  doubt 
doubly  illegal :  the  grant  of  the  general  government  was  for 
the  support  of  a  university,  not  to  construct  buildings ;  and 
the  income  only,  not  the  principal,  was  to  be  used  for  such 
support.  The  foundations  for  a  second  building  were  soon 
after  laid,  but  it  was  not  completed  until  1855,  and  then  not  by 
money  appropriated  by  the  state,  but  by  a  second  loan  of  $15,- 
000  from  the  university  fund.  Two  years  later  another  loan 
of  more  than  $50,000,  for  the  construction  of  a  third  building 
was  made  from  the  same  fund.  No  other  buildings  were  con- 
structed until  1870.  With  nearly  $10G,000  thus  taken  right 
out  from  the  university  fund,  the  already  slender  income 
was  so  reduced  that  apparatus  and  additional  instruction  had 
to  be  postponed. 

The  life  of  the  university  from  its  birth  until  1866  was 
one  long  struggle,  not  pleasant  to  think  upon.  Not  only 
were  its  lands  squandered,  and  the  burden  of  erecting  nec- 
essary buildings  unjustly  and  illegally  thrown  upon  it,  and 
its  income  thus  impaired,  but  from  the  first  the  new  institu- 
tion made  its  way  against  a  hostile  public  sentiment.  The 
right  of  the  state  to  provide  for  higher  education  was  dis- 
puted ;  the  right  even  to  provide  for  common  school  instruc- 
tion was  not  everywhere  conceded.  The  denominational 
college  was  the  only  type  of  higher  institution  with  which 
the  people  were  familiar,  and  a  purely  secular  university  was 
an  impiety,  and  its  success  an  impossibility.  Indifference  to 
the  university  we  may  ascribe  to  the  engrossing  cares  of  the 
material  life  in  new  communities,  or  to  the  desire  among 
the  better  educated  to  send  their  sons  to  the  older  eastern  in- 
stitutions with  whose  walls  they  were  themselves  familiar ; 
but  the  active  opposition  that  could  violate  a  solemn  public 
trust,  and  even  plot  the  life  of  the  university,  could  spring 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 


93 


only  from  surviving  medieval  conceptions  of  the  relation  of 
the  church  and  the  state  to  education. 

It  was  charged  constantly  from  1850  to  1866  that  the 
university  did  not  meet  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  that  there 
was  mismanagement  of  the  funds  by  the  regents.  From  the 
fact  that  the  legislature  authorized  loans  from  the  university 
fund  for  the  erection  of  the  college  buildings,  the  state  came 
to  think  that  it  might  do  as  it  pleased  with  the  university  and 
its  funds ;  and  at  one  time  it  had  so  far  taken  possession  that 
the  regents  were  compelled  to  ask  the  legislature  each  year 


^^El^^';. 

^Ml 

^^^^n                        ''^flgf^^^^^H 

1 

^-ISi^^^Hfl' ' 

V>^:  '• 

HPv^ —    — 

^^^Hh^h 

^fi^ 

mm 

BLiHiA^ 

^  '^ 

formally  to  appropriate  the  income  of  the  university  fund 
for  the  current  expenses  of  the  institution.  From  this 
usurpation  the  idea  that  the  university  was  subsisting  upon 
the  bounty  of  the  state  became  firmly  fixed ;  the  denomina- 
tional colleges  petitioned  the  legislature  to  abandon  the  state 
university  and  to  divide  the  university  fund  among  them, 
and  the  local  press  generally  favored  the  measure.  In  1855 
£i  member  of  the  board  of  regents,  who  was  also  a  member 
>of  the  assembly,  introduced  a  bill  in  the  legislature  to  grant 
the  prayer  of  the  denominational  colleges.  But  the  action 
seemed  so  Judas-like  that  even   popular   indifference   was 


94  THE  UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

aroused  and  made  him  withdraw  the  measure.  There  wasr. 
hostiUty  everywhere.  In  a  formal  meeting  of  the  regents  it 
was  proposed  to  suspend  the  institution  for  one  year  for  the 
pretended  purpose  of  securing  a  more  efficient  organization. 
While  probably  three-fourths  of  the  students  boarded  them- 
selves yet  these  critics  of  the  university  sneered  at  it  as 
existing  only  "  for  the  aristocratic  few." 

The  charge  that  the  university  did  not  meet  the  wants 
of  the  people  was  made,  but  in  what  way  it  failed  the  regents 
were  not  informed,  and  so  they  tried  in  various  ways  to  meet 
what  they  supposed  might  be  those  wants.  They  organized 
a  department  of  law  and  one  of  medicine,  but  got  no  further 
than  the  organization,  on  account  of  lack  of  funds ;  they 
tried  to  establish  a  normal  department  that  should  be  at  the 
same  time  one  of  the  normal  schools  of  the  state,  but  failed  ; 
they  tried  to  give  a  more  practical  education.  Says  Chan- 
cellor Lathrop  in  his  report  to  the  board:  "In  the  administra- 
tion of  the  department  of  science,  literature  and  the  arts  in 
the  university,  a  more  distinct  bias  should  be  given  to  its 
instructions  in  the  direction  of  its  several  arts  and  avocations 
as  they  exist  among  men  ;  the  practical  should  take  rank  of 
the  theoretical  in  the  forms  as  well  as  the  substance  of  the 
university  culture." 

Not  all  of  the  criticism,  however,  was  prejudiced  or  un- 
just. Undoubtedly  there  was  a  feeling  among  the  peoples- 
blind,  unreasoning  though  it  was,  that  the  university  should 
minister  to  the  material,  practical  life  of  the  community  ;  the 
stereot3'ped  college  course  was  felt  somehow  to  be  inadequate, 
out  of  touch  with  the  new  learning  in  science.  This  feeling 
was  the  hint  of  an  ever-broadening  conception  of  education. 
But  it  was  unjust  to  demand  that  the  regents  should  broaden 
a  course  of  study  already  too  broad  for  the  resources  at  their 
command.  The  university  did  undoubtedly  seem  unsuccess- 
ful. However  promising  the  graduates  of  any  new  institution 
may  be,  however  good  the  instruction,  the  results  will  at  first 
seem  very  disproportionate  to  the  effort  expended.  The 
people  then  could  not  know  that  among  those  early  graduates 
there  were  in  embryo  great  lawyers,  judges.  United  States 
senators  and  cabinet  ministers.  However  impatient  we  are 
for  the  fruitage,  it  takes  time  to  grow  men.  This  impatient 
spirit  of  the  people  show'ed  itself  in  frequent  re-organizations 
of  the  university  ;  like  impatient  children,  they  periodic- 
ally uprooted  the  young  plant  to  see  why  it  did  not  grow- 
faster. 


96  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

In  1858  the  regents  reorganized  the  course  of  study 
somewhat  along  the  lines  proposed  by  the  enemies  as  well 
as  by  the  friends  of  the  university.  When  this  re-organiza- 
tion was  completed,  Dr.  Lathrop  resigned  the  chancellor- 
ship, and  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  etiiical  and  political 
science,  but  this  he  also  resigned  the  following  year.  Dr. 
Henry  Barnard,  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  widely  known  as  an 
educator,  was  elected  chancellor,  and  his  acceptance  filled 
the  friends  of  the  university  with  hope  and  confidence. 
But  their  anticipations  w^ere  never  to  be  realized,  for  Dr.  Bar- 
nard's health  was  not  good,  and  besides  to  the  duties  of 
chancellor  he  had  added  those  of  agent  for  the  normal  school 
board,  and  it  was  as  such  agent  that  he  did  his  chief  work 
in  the  state.  To  the  limit  of  his  strength  he  gave  himself 
to  the  bettering  of  the  common  schools  of  the  state,  a  work 
greatly  needed,  to  be  sure,  and  directly  in  line  with  his 
previous  tastes  and  experience,  while  the  university  saw 
little  of  him.  After  two  years  he  resigned,  and  Prof.  Ster- 
ling, the  dean  of  the  faculty,  was  for  seven  years  the 
executive  head  of  the  institution. 

When  the  civil  war  broke  out,  the  young  men  looked 
across  from  College  hill  on  Camp  Randall,  a  great  drill 
ground  for  the  new  regiments,  and  they  soon  found  their 
way  into  the  ranks.  Entire  classes  were  in  the  field ;  the 
annual  attendance  was  reduced  to  fifty  or  sixty ;  one  year 
no  commencement  exercises  were  held.  During  the  period 
of  the  war  the  question  was  not  one  of  progress,  but  of 
keeping  the  breath  of  life  in  the  institution.  The  most 
rigid  economy  was  demanded,  yet,  in  spite  of  their  poverty, 
the  regents,  in  1863,  established  a  normal  department,  and 
seventy-six  young  women  tripped  into  the  university.  They 
were  graciously  allowed  to  hear  lectures  on  a  few  subjects, 
such  as  botany,  chemistry  and  English  literature,  but  en- 
trance into  the  regular  work  in  languages,  mathematics, 
philosophy,  etc.,  was  still  denied  them.  The  wise  conserva- 
tives, however,  insisted  that  the  department  was  a  Trojan 
horse,  and  the  enem}'  was  already  within  the  gates. 

In  1866  the  legislature  reorganized  the  university,  re- 
created it,  established  it  on  enduring  foundations.  The 
war  had  been  an  educator;  men's  ideas  had  broadened, 
many  a  soldier  hastened  from  the  battlefield  to  the  college 
or  university.  We  had  come  in  touch  each  with  the  other, 
and  with  this  cosmopolitan  feeling  had  come  a  recognition 
of  the  value  of  higher  education. 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 


97 


The  great  prosperit}'  of  Michigan  university,  established 
in  1841,  stimulated  our  state  pride.  The  sentiment  was 
slowly  growing  among  the  people  that  if  the  university  had 
really  come  to  stay,  then  it  must  have  an  opportunity  and 
must  have  money.  By  the  reorganization,  the  university 
was  to  consist  of  a  college  of  arts,  a  college  of  letters,  and 
such  other  colleges  as  might  from  time  to  time  be  added 
thereto.  The  scope  of  the  two  colleges  established  was  very 
broad,  and  provision  was  made  for  further,  almost  indefinite, 
expansion  without  change  in  the  organic  law. 


Now,  for  men  and  money.  The  regents  tendered  the 
presidency  to  Paul  A.  Chadbourne,  formerly  a  professor  in 
Williams  college  and  at  this  time  president  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  college.  Dr.  Chadbourne  visited  the 
state  twice,  looked  the  ground  over  carefully,  and  then  de- 
clined the  position.  The  reason  was  plain.  In  this  last  re- 
organization the  legislature  had  provided  that  "the  university 
in  all  its  departments  and  colleges  shall  be  open  alike  to  male 
and  female  students."  But  Dr.  Chadbourne  was  not  a  be- 
liever in  co-education.  The  regents  then  went  to  tlie  next 
legislature  and  represented  that  the  carrying  out  strictl}'  of 


98  THE  UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN, 

the  provision  in  regard  to  co-education  would  be  injurious  to 
the  university.  The  legislature  thereupon  amended  the- 
original  section  and  provided  that  "  the  university  shall  be 
open  to  female  as  well  as  male  students  under  such  regula- 
tions as  the  board  of  regents  may  deem  proper,  and  all  able- 
bodied  male  students  of  the  university,  in  Avhatever  college,- 
shall  receive  instruction  and  discipline  in  military  tactics,  the 
requisite  arms  for  which  shall  be  furnished  by  the  state." 
The  presidency  was  again  offered  to  Dr.  Chadbourne  in  June^ 
1867.  He  accepted,  and  the  real  work  of  reorganization  was 
begun.  Of  the  old  faculty  Prof.  Sterling  alone  was  perma- 
nently retained.  New  courses  of  study  were  provided,  and 
the  university  was  swung  slowly  around  on  its  new  direction.. 
The  long-looked-for  day  had  dawned. 

Dr.  Chadbourne  was,  first  of  all,  an  orderly  man  ;  not 
great  as  a  specialist,  but  of  excellent  scholarship  along  many 
lines.  To  the  young  men  of  that  time  he  seemed  an  ideal 
teacher.  He  certainly  brought  an  atmosphere  of  an  older 
and  more  perfect  culture,  lifted  university  instruction  to  new 
dignity,  raised  the  office  of  president  of  the  university  to  such 
honorableness  that  he  won  respect  for  the  university  and 
its  interests. 

By  the  act  of  reorganization  the  legislature  had  provided' 
for  the  support  of  the  university  :  First :  The  income  of  the 
university  fund,  which  consisted  of  the  proceeds  of  thegrants- 
of  1838  and  1854.  Second  :  The  income  of  a  fund  to  be  de- 
rived from  the  sale  of  the  240,000  acres  of  land  granted  by 
Congress  in  1862  for  the  benefit  of  agriculture  and  the  me- 
chanic arts,  to  be  called  the  agricultural  college  fund  ;  and 
Third :  All  such  contributions  to  the  endowment  fund  as- 
might  be  derived  from  private  or  public  bounty.  In  tha 
whole  act  of  reorganization  perhaps  no  other  single  provision 
was  so  important  as  the  one  thus  placing  the  agricultural  col- 
lege in  the  university  instead  of  organizing  it  as  a  separate- 
institution. 

At  the  time  of  the  reorganization  the  annual  income 
from  the  university  fund  was  $11,894.20.  This  was  plainly 
insufficient  for  the  support  of  the  university,  and  the  legisla- 
ture, in  1867, appropriated  to  the  university  annually  lor  ten 
years  the  sum  of  S7,303.67,  being  interest  on  a  gross  sum  of 
$104,339.42,  that  liad  been  taken  from  the  university  fund 
in  1862.  The  change  of  attitude  was  marked.  Previous  to- 
1866  the  state  had  charged  the  regents  $1,000  a  year  for  the- 
care  of  the  university  fund,  now  the  state  treasurer  was  mada 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 


99 


ex-ofBcio  treasurer  of  the  university.  In  1870,  animated  by 
tiiis  new  born  spirit  of  generosity,  the  legishiture  appro- 
priated $50,000  for  the  erection  of  ladies'  hali,  the  first  money 
the  state  ever  gave  to  the  university. 

President  Chadbourne,  on  account  of  ill-health,  resigned 
in  June,  1871.  The  university,  however,  under  the  impulse 
he  had  given  it,  moved  on.  The  breath  of  a  new  life  was 
animating  the  whole  institution.  With  the  new  faculty  had 
come  a  new  horizon.  The  courses  of  study  liad  been  laid 
along  lines  that  meant  steady  growth  and  unceasing  power. 


Men  might  come  and  men  might  go,  but  hereafter  the  uni- 
versity was  to  move  steadily  forward. 

In  June,  1871,  Rav.  John  H.  Twombly,  of  Boston,  was 
chosen  president,  and  held  the  office  for  three  years.  Upon 
his  resignation,  in  1874,  the  regents  elected  as  his  successor^ 
Dr.  John  Basco  m,  of  Williams  college. 

For  thirtf  en  years  Dr.  Bascom,  with  great  wisdom  and 
abihty,  directed  the  fortunes  of  the  institution.  There  went 
out  from  the  academic  department,  during  those  years,  585 
graduates,  each  one  of  whom  had  been  mentally  and  morally 
quickened  by  his  instruction.  He  was  the  Mark  Hopkins  of 
the  university.     His  philosophy  may  not  be  the  philosophy 


100  THE  UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

-of  the  future ;  the  power  and  influence  was  in  the  man.  The 
students  heard  the  profoundest  themes  discussed  by  a  great 
man,  saw  the  processes  of  his  thought,  the  orderly  ongoing  of 
a  trained  intellect,  and  knew  thereafter  the  difference  between 
thinking  and  merely  seeming  to  think.  He  was  an  inspirer 
of  men  ;  instruction  in  its  best  sense  reached  in  the  university 
its  high  tide  in  his  class-room. 

President  Bascom  was  heartily  in  favor  of  co-education. 
The  temporizing  system  adopted  in  1867  had  continued  with 
some  modifications  until  his  time.  During  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Chadbourne,  the  3'oung  men  and  the  young 
women  recited  in  the  same  subject  to  the  same  instructors, 
but  at  different  hours.  The  president  would  liear  the  six  or 
€ight  young  men  of  the  senior  class  in  philosophy,  and  the 
next  hour  would  step  into  an  adjoining  room  and  hear  about 
the  same  number  of  young  women  recite  the  same  lesson. 
Tlie  system  steadily  broke  down  under  the  weight  of  its  own 
absurdity,  and  in  1874  the  young  men  and  the  young  women 
entered  the  classes  together,  and  all  the  manilold  calamities 
that  had  been  prophesied  never  came  to  pass.  True,  there  were 
some  who,  persuaded  against  their  will,  were  of  the  same 
opinion  still  in  regard  to  co-education,  but  these  utterances 
were  only  echoes  of  the  strife  that  liad  really  ended,  and  they 
soon  died  away. 

The  generosity  of  the  state  was  shown  by  increasing 
from  time  to  time  the  income  of  the  university,  and  by  lib- 
eral appropriations  for  buildings.  The  legislature  in  1872, 
after  reciting  the  mismanagement  of  the  lands  of  the  univer- 
sity, by  the  state,  in  former  years,  decreed  that  annually 
thereafter  there  should  be  levied  a  tax  of  $10,000  as  part  of 
the  university  income.  A  tardy  acknowledgment,  perhaps, 
but  no  less  pleasing  to  the  friends  of  the  university.  But 
even  better  than  this  followed.  In  1876  the  legislature 
voted  to  replace  the  $10,000  tax  by  another  tax  of  one-tenth 
of  a  mill  on  the  dollar  on  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  taxa- 
ble property  of  the  state.  This,  it  was  declared  in  the  bill, 
was  to  be  deemed  a  full  compensation  for  all  deficiencies  in 
the  income  from  the  disposition  of  the  lands  donated  by  the 
state.  This  tax  greatly  increased  the  income  of  the  univer- 
sity. In  1883  it  was  increased  to  one-eighth  of  a  mill  on  the 
dollar,  and  such  increase  was  to  be  used  to  maintain  an 
agricultural  experiment  station  and  a  school  of  pharmac}'. 

The  appropriations  for  buildings  were  no  less  liberal. 
The  science  department  of  the  university  began  to  take  form 


^o^  ^-yi 


'<L«j.>-^f 


president  3obn  Bascom. 

Professor  John  Bascom  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  the 
AVisconsm  university  in  April,  1874.  His  advent  was  marked 
by  an  earnest  and  persistent  endeavor  to  raise  the  standard  of 
scholarship  and  to  establish  for  the  institution  those  ideals  and 
aims  which  distinguish  true  university  education  from  the  aca- 
demic or  preparatory  stage  of  teaching.  As  in  the  growth  of 
higher  institutions,  President  Bascom  found  that  the  labor  of 
securing  the  conditions  of  growth  were  arduous.  He  was  met 
by  external  opposition  which  was  the  more  difficult  to  sur- 
mount as  it  came  from  those  unacquainted  with  the  aims  of 
higher  education  and  its  value  to  the  commonwealth.  The 
thirteen  years  of  his  management  Avere,  however,  rewarded  by  a 
steady  advancement  along  the  lines  of  larger  growth  and  more 
liberal  culture. 

At  his  request  young  women  were  admitted  to  the  same 
courses  and  advantages  as  young  men.  The  terms  of  admission 
were  gradually  raised,  and  distinctively  preparatory  work  elim- 
inated. The  multiplication  of  high  schools  throughout  the 
state,  and  the  fixing  of  the  standard  of  admission  from  these 
schools  to  the  university,  at  last  supplied  the  foundation  for 
which  President  Bascom  labored.  In  the  meantime  the  learn- 
ing and  diligence  of  the  president  was  a  full  and  constant 
source  of  helpfulness  to  the  pupils.  His  personal  instruction 
was  given  generously  to  the  higher  classes — during  his  term  he 
taught  fifteen  classes,  instructing  both  juniors  and  seniors  the 
last  year. 

President  Bascom  is  now  residing  at  Williamstown,  Mass. 

W.  E.  A. 


THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    WISCONSIN. 


101 


soon  after  the  reorganization.  In  1869  the  professor  of  chem- 
istry cleaned  out  the  cellar  of  the  old  main  hall,  where  the 
janitor  had  from  the  beginning  stored  his  wood,  and  estab- 
lished the  first  laboratory  of  the  university,  and  the  students 
began  to  work  with  things  instead  of  abstractions.  The 
department  went  from  this  basement  and  the  main  hall  into 
one  of  the  old  dormitories,  and  when  these  quarters  became 
too  small,  the  legislature,  in    1875,  showing  the  increasing 


SCIENCE    HALL 


good-will  of  the  people,  appropriated  ^80,000  for  the  building 
of  science  hall,  and  it  was  completed  two  years  later. 

In  1878  there  was  appropriated  the  sum  of  $130,000  for  an 
assembly  hall  and  library  building.  It  seemed  that  now  the 
needed  buildings  for  the  university  had  been  provided.  The 
need  was  to  come  in  an  unexpected  way.  On  December  1, 
1884,  science  hall,  with  its  costly  apparatus  and  valuable  col- 
lections was  burned.  The  legislature,  ten  days  later,  voted 
$150,000  for  a  science  hall,  machine  shops  and  boiler  house ; 


102  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

$20,000  for  a  new  chemical  laboratory,  and  $20,000  for  heat- 
ing apparatus.  The  regents  immediately  began  the  erection 
of  these  buildings.  It  was  after  a  time  seen  that  the  build- 
ings as  planned  would  cost  a  much  larger  sum  than  the  ap- 
propriations, and  two  years  later  the  legislature  with  a  feeling 
that  the  regents  should  be  reprimanded  for  exceeding  the 
original  appropriation,  voted  an  additional  sum  of  $125,000 
to  complete  science  hall  on  the  scale  laid  out  by  the  regents. 
The  new  hall  is  massive  in  its  proportions,  admirably  planned 
and  is  fire-proof.  At  the  time  of  its  erection  it  was  among 
the  very  best  of  the  buildings  devoted  wholly  to  science  in 
the  world. 

Brick  and  mortar  do  not  indeed  make  a  university,  and 
yet  the  growing  shell  shows  in  a  measure  the  development  of 
its  inhabitant,  and  the  new  science  hall  that  seemed  in  1888 
large  for  our  uses  is  getting  even  now  somewhat  crowded, 
and  a  new  engineering  building  is  one  of  the  not  remote 
possibilities. 

In  1887  President  Bascom  resigned.  During  his  admin- 
istration the  university  grew  in  power,  in  new  departments, 
in  increased  facilities.  The  kindly  feeling  that  sprung  up 
after  the  reconstruction  continued  ;  the  permanent  income  of 
the  university  was  greatly  increased,  and  more  than  half  a 
million  dollars  had  been  appropriated  for  new  buildings. 
The  preparatory  department  was  abolished,  and  the  system 
of  accredited  high  schools  was  Inaugurated.  Co-education 
was  made  the  permanent  policy  ot  the  institution ;  the 
agricultural  experiment  station  was  beginning  to  solve  the 
problem  of  agricultural  education. 

On  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Bascom,  the  regents  elected  as 
his  successor  Dr.  Thomas  Chrowder  Chamberlin,  of  the 
United  States  geological  survey.  Further  broadening  of  the 
scope  of  the  university ;  more  original  research;  more  post- 
graduate study ;  the  method  and  life  of  a  university,  and  not 
those  of  a  college — these  fairly  indicate  the  hopes  and  pur- 
poses of  the  new  executive.  Dr.  Chamberlin  was  not  ex- 
pected to  give  instruction  in  the  class-room,  but  to  devote 
himself  entirely  to  executive  duties.  He  held  the  presidency 
for  five  years. 

In  briefly  sketching  the  period  from  1887  to  1892, 1  shall 
aim  not  only  to  indicate  the  lines  of  recent  progress,  but  to 
show  in  some  measure  the  fruitage  of  seed  long  since  planted, 
and  thus  in  some  degree  place  before  you  the  university  as 
it  exists  to-dav. 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN.  103 

One  of  the  greatest  drawbacks  in  the  early  history  of  the 
niniversity  was  the  lack  of  fitting  schools.  There  were  no 
funds  to  establish  academies  throughout  the  state,  if  it  had 
been  thought  wise  to  do  so.  It  was  only  as  the  university  grew 
in  popular  favor,  and  took  its  rightful  place  in  the  educational 
«ystein  of  the  state,  that  the  high  schools  took  up  successfully 
the  [unctions  of  feeders  to  the  university.  The  system  is 
oow  fairly  established  and  becomes  every  year  more  efficient. 
Any  high  school  or  academy  wishing  to  be  admitted  to  the 
list  of  accredited  schools  will  be  examined  as  to  its  courses  of 
study  and  method  of  instruction  by  an  agent  of  the  uni- 
versity, usually  one  of  the  professors.  Upon  his  favorable 
■recommendation  and  the  concurrence  of  the  faculty,  the 
school  is  placed  upon  the  list  and  continues  thereon  from 
year  to  year  while  the  results  are  satisfactory,  and  while  the 
management  of  the  school  remains  unchanged.  In  1892 
4-here  were  100  schools  on  the  accredited  list.  Of  this  num- 
ber 14  high  schools  prepare  for  all  tlie  courses  except  the 
ancient  classical.  Of  the  remainder,  a  majority  prepare  for 
three  or  four  courses.  There  are  ten  seminaries  and  academies 
on  the  list.  The  professor  of  pedagogy  in  the  university  has 
-special  charge  of  these  accredited  schools.  Under  his  wise 
management  the  connection  of  the  university  not  only  with 
the  high  schools,  but  with  all  the  lower  schools  of  the  state, 
is  becoming  more  close,  and  with  the  grading  of  the  country 
schools,  now  rapidly  going  on,  the  way  to  the  university  for 
every  boy  and  girl  in  the  state  is  made  easy. 

The  college  of  law  graduated  its  first  class  in  1869.  It 
has  had  a  prosperous  career ;  a  steady  growth  in  numbers 
And  in  efficiency.  The  ablest  attorneys  and  jurists  of  the 
Northwest  have  been  members  of  the  faculty.  The  methods 
•of  instruction  embrace  the  best  of  the  most  approved  sys- 
tems. There  are  lectures  and  quizzes,  text-book  study  and 
practice  in  stating  and  explaining  legal  principles,  the 
drafting  of  legal  papers,  and  the  trial  and  argument  of 
•cases  in  moot  courts,  all  supervised  by  experienced  instruct- 
ors— a  system  that  insures  the  maximum  of  benefit  to  be 
-derived  from  a  school  of  law.  Madison  offers  superior 
advantages  for  such  a  school.  Here  are  located  the  munici- 
pal court,  the  circuit  court,  the  state  supreme  court  and  the 
United  States  district  court.  The  library  of  the  school  is  of 
^ood  size  and  well  selected ;  while  the  state  law  library  is 
the  largest  and  most  complete  in  the  west.  The  regular 
■course  is  two  years ;  a  three  years'  course  is  offered,  which  is 


104  THE  UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

practically  the  two  years'  course  with  an  added  year  in 
economics,  political  and  social  science.  College  graduates- 
who  take  ot  these  elective  branches,  the  equivalent  of  a  full 
year's  work,  may  at  the  end  of  three  years  receive  an  aca- 
demic master's  degree,  as  well  as  the  degree  of  bachelor  of 
law.  The  college  has  had  its  quarters  in  the  capitol  build- 
ing ;  of  late  years  it  has  been  cramped  for  room,  especially 
during  the  session  of  the  legislature,  but  the  new  building 
on  College  hill,  costing  ^75,000,  now  nearly  completed,  will 
make  the  department  a  home  whose  elegance  and  com- 
pleteness  will  atone  somewhat  for  the  discomforts  of  the 
past. 

Striving  to  serve  the  material  life  of  the  state  as  well  as 
the  intellectual,  the  department  of  engineering  has  been 
greatly  strengthened,  and  established  as  the  college  of 
mechanics  and  engineering.  It  offers  courses  in  railway, 
structural,  mechanical,  electrical  and  metallurgical  engineer- 
ing. The  whole  number  of  students  in  attendance  is  173. 
These  courses,  aiming  in  the  four  years  to  give  both  a 
general  and  professional  training,  are  among  the  hardest 
courses  in  the  university  and  yet  among  the  most  popular. 

The  school  of  pharmacy  was  established  in  1884,  and 
at  once  took  high  rank. 

The  curriculum  of  the  university  may  seem  to  soma 
incomplete  without  a  medical  department.  At  an  early 
day  such  a  department  was  organized,  on  paper,  and,  per- 
haps fortunately  for  the  university,  never  progressed  beyond 
that  point.  The  field  is  now  occupied  by  the  medical  schools 
of  Chicago.  The  superior  conditions  furnished  by  large 
cities  have  kept  the  regents  from  entering  upon  a  work  where 
the  university  would  of  necessity  be  at  a  disadvantage.  In 
its  pre-medical  course  it  now  makes  substantial  contribution 
to  the  general  medical  training.  In  these  later  years  there 
seems  to  be  a  growing  need  for  a  high  kind  of  investigative 
work  in  pathological  science,  work  that  neither  the  busy 
physician  nor  the  medical  instructor  can  adequately  do, 
work  that  can  only  be  done  by  special  talent  in  a  great  lab- 
oratory perfectly  equipped.  Such  a  laboratory  lies  fairly 
within  the  scope  of  the  university ;  and  it  has  its  precedent 
in  the  great  agricultural  laboratories  of  the  institution. 

The  development  of  the  agricultural  college  has  been  most 
interesting.  It  was  fortunate  for  the  university  and  for  the 
cause  of  agricultural  education,  as  we  said  above,  that  the  land 
grant  of  1862  was  used  not  to  establish  an  agricultural  college 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   W^SCOXSIN.  105 

as  a  separate  institution,  but  to  incorporate  with  the  university 
a  school  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts.  A  separate  in- 
stitution would  have  meant  a  duplication  of  buildings,  and 
instructional  forces,  all  of  which  was  saved  to  the  university 
and  the  state.  This  disposition  of  the  agricultural  college 
grant  was  determined  upon  definitely  in  1866,  nearly  five 
years  after  the  grant  was  made  by  the  general  government. 
The  legislature,  by  the  same  act  that  made  tlie  agricultural 
college  a  part  of  the  university,  empowered  Dane  county  to 
issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $40,000  to  purchase  an  experi- 
mental farm.  In  pursuance  of  this  authority  the  county 
purchased  a  tract  of  land  containing  nearly  195  acres  adjoin- 
ing the  old  university  grounds,  and  improved  it  for  the  use 
of  the  department  of  agriculture. 

The  system  of  agricultural  education  in  the  university 
has  three  aims :  First,  to  develop  agricultural  science  through 
investigation  and  experiment.  Second,  to  give  instruction  in 
agriculture  at  the  university.  Third,  to  disseminate  agri- 
cultural knowledge,  the  result  of  such  investigation,  among 
the  farmers,  by  means  of  institutes  and  publications. 

The  experimentation  and  investigation  are  carried  on 
in  the  experiment  station  at  the  university.  The  station 
was  organized  by  the  legislature  in  1883,  and  the  state  now 
contributes  $5,000  annually  to  its  support.  The  station  force 
consists  of  the  directors  and  four  professors,  two  assistants, 
and  perhaps  half  a  dozen  other  employes. 

The  greatest  work  yet  done  at  the  station  is  the  inven- 
tion of  the  Babcock  milk  test,  by  Dr.  Babcock,  the  chemist- 
in-chief.  For  one  hundred  years  chemists  had  sought  a 
simple  and  cheap  method  for  determining  fat  in  milk  ;  the 
demand  for  such  a  test  was  heard  at  every  meeting  of  dairy- 
men. The  Babcock  test  meets  this  need.  It  is  so  simple 
that  a  fifteen-year-old  boy  can  make  the  tests  as  accurately 
as  a  skilled  chemist  can,  and  twenty  times  as  rapidly  as  the 
chemist  can  by  the  gravimetric  process.  Thousands  of  these 
tests  are  in  use  in  this  country  and  in  Europe,  and  milk  is 
paid  for  according  to  the  per  cent,  of  fat  it  contains.  If  it 
is  asked  what  is  such  a  test  worth  in  dollars  and  cents  to  the 
farmers  and  dairymen  of  this  country,  it  is  probably  less 
than  the  truth  to  answ^er  that  it  is  worth  to  the  dairy  interests 
of  Wisconsin  alone  more  in  dollars  and  cents  than  the  uni- 
versity has  ever  cost  the  state. 

At  the  station  such  scientific  matters  as  the  following 
are  now  being  investigated :     Animal   nutritioD ;  effects  of 


106  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

different  foods  and  different  combinations  upon  the  animal 
carcass  and  in  the  production  of  milk  ;  all  questions  con- 
nected with  the  dairy  ;  the  movements  of  the  water  in  the 
soil ;  how  much  water  is  required  by  growing  crops,  and 
how  best  to  serve  it  to  them  ;  experience  in  fruit  trees  from 
Siberia,  northern  China  and  the  hardiest  home  varieties. 

In  the  matter  of  instruction  the  long  course  and  the 
short  course  indicate  the  differentiation  in  agricultural  work- 
ers. The  long  course  means  scientific  investigators  in  agri- 
culture, the  short  course  means  the  intelligent,  practical 
farmer  or  dairj^man.  Students  are  daily  at  work  in  manu- 
facturing butter,  studying  living  speciniens  of  the  best  farm 
animals,  or  in  grafting  in  the  horticultural  rooms.  These 
short  courses  are  very  popular.  The  dairying  course  in  par- 
ticular has  been  obliged  to  turn  applicants  away  from  lack 
of  room.  Among  the  students  in  this  course  are  instructors 
of  several  years'  practice  in  other  agricultural  colleges.  The 
new  dairy  building,  "Hiram  Smith  Hall,"  costing  $40,000,  is 
the  most  completely  equipped  building  for  its  purpose  in 
the  world. 

The  third  aim  is  to  disseminate  agricultural  knowledge, 
to  bring  the  great  mass  of  farmers  into  vital  connection  with 
this  experimental  and  investigative  work  at  the  station  by 
means  of  farmers'  institutes;  it  is  practical  and  potential, 
completing  a  system  that  marks  a  plain  advance  in  agricul- 
tural education.  These  institutes  are  under  the  control  of 
the  agricultural  college,  which  sends  to  each  a  conductor 
with  from  two  to  four  assistants.  About  one  hundred  insti- 
tutes are  held  every  winter,  each  lasting  from  two  to  three 
days.  The  attendance  ranges  fi-om  250  to  1,500;  the  aggre- 
gate attendance  for  1891  was  over  30,000;  farmers  often 
come  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  attend  the  meetings.  The  con- 
ductor, the  professors  from  the  station,  other  specialists  in 
the  state,  or  from  other  states,  are  there  to  suggest  methods, 
to  answer  questions  that  a  great  body  of  farmers  are  quick 
to  ask.  For  six  years  this  pioneer  university  extension  work 
has  been  in  operation.  For  this  work  the  legislature  makes 
an  annual  appropriation  of  $12,000.  The  great  significance  of 
these  institutes  is  only  now  being  generally  recognized.  Says 
Charles  Dudley  Warner  in  Harper's  Magazine  :  "As  these 
farmer's  institutes  are  conducted  I  do  not  know  any  influence 
comparable  with  them  in  waking  up  the  farmers  to  think,  to 
inquire  into  and  improve  methods  and  to  see  in  what  real 
prosperity  consists.     With  prosperity,  as  a  rule,  the  farmer 


Iprofc00or  Z.  C.  Cbambcrlain, 

Thomas  Chrowder  Clianiberlain,  head  professor  of  geology, 
University  of  Chicago,  was  born  near  Mattoon,  111.,  September, 
1843.  His  father,  a  pioneer  ^lethodist  P^piscopal  clergyman, 
moved  to  Wisconsin,  near  Beloit,  where  his  son  Thomas  soon 
exhibited  that  devotion  to  learning  which  has  since  marked  the 
career  of  one  of  the  foremost  scientists  and  scholars  of  this 
country. 

Aided  partly  by  teaching,  he  finished  a  classical  course  in 
Beloit  college,  taught  two  years  as  principal  of  the  Delavan 
high  school,  then  spent  a  year  at  Ann  Arbor  in  the  study  of 
science.  At  twenty-five,  he  became  professor  of  natural  science 
at  the  state  normal  school  at  Whitewater,  where  his  abilities 
attracted  attention,  and  won  him  the  chair  of  geology  in  Beloit 
college.  In  1876  he  was  promoted  from  the  position  of  assist- 
ant state  geologist  to  that  of  chief.  The  elaborate  and  exhaustive 
reports  of  the  state  geological  survey  bear  witness  to  his  learning 
and  labor.  He  is  now  chief  of  the  glacial  division  of  the  United 
States  geological  survey.  From  '79  to  '8 1  he  again  taught  geol- 
ogy in  Beloit,  and  in  '86  accepted  the  chair  of  geology  in  Colum- 
bian university. 

In  1887  he  became  president  of  Wisconsin  university,  and 
for  five  years  conducted  that  institution  through  a  i)rosi)erous 
growth,  witnessed  by  an  increase  of  attendance  from  five  hun- 
dred to  nearly  eleven  hundred,  an  addition  of  more  than  a 
score  of  instructors,  the  erection  of  science  hall  the  Ibund- 
ing  of  three  new  buildings,  and  the  inauguration  of  the  univer- 
sity extension  courses. 

In  1892  Professor  Chamberlain  resigned  the  presidenc}^  of 
the  Wisconsin  university  to  accept  the  chair  of  geology  in  the 
Chicago  university,  where  he  has  opportunities  in  the  domain  of 
his  chosen  work  befitting  one  of  his  broad  attainments. 

Extensive  travel  and  observation  as  United  States  geologist, 
has  ripened  and  crystallized  his  learning,  so  that  he  is  a  recog- 
nized authority  on  American  geology,  especially  upon  the 
glacial  period. 

As  a  testimony  to  his  worth  as  a  scholar,  a  teacher,  and 
true  scientist,  degrees  of  Ph.  D.  have  been  conferred  by  the 
universities  of  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  and  again,  in  1887,  tlie 
degree  of  LL.  D.  was  bestowed  by  Michigan  university,  Beloit 
college  and  Columbian  university. 

He  is  emphatically  "  a  self-made  man,"  a  successful  student 
in  the  triumphs  he  has  won  when  called  by  opportunity  to  per- 
form great  services  to  science  and  education,  and  well  represents 
that  high  type  of  manhood  which  characterizes  the  energetic 
life  of  the  Mississippi  vallev. 

AV.  K.  A. 


THE   UNIVERSITY  OF    WISCONSIN.  107 

and  his  family  are  conservative,  law-keeping,  church-going, 
good  citizens.  The  little  appropriation  of  $12,000  has  already 
returned  to  the  state  a  thousand  fold  in  general  intelligence." 
Thesuccessoftheagriculturalcollege  must  be  largely  attributed 
to  the  wise  direction  of  Professor  William  A.  Henry,  dean  of 
the  college,  and  director  of  the  university  experiment  station. 

The  school  of  economics,  political  science  and  history 
was  created  in  1892.  Dr.  Richard  T.  Ely,  of  Johns  Hopkins 
university,  was  elected  director  and  professor  of  political 
economy.  "  The  purpose  of  the  school  is  to  afford  superior 
means  for  advanced  study  and  research  in  the  economic, 
political,  social  and  historical  sciences.  The  subjects  are 
treated  largely  from  the  investigative  and  scientific  point  of 
view.  It  is  the  especial  aim  to  promote  a  more  liberal  study 
of  the  branches  that  are  basal  to  the  practice  of  law,  journal- 
ism, the  ministry,  and  other  profession  directly  concerned 
with  human  relations.  It  is  adapted  to  those  who  wish  to 
supplement  their  legal,  theological,  or  other  professional 
studies  with  courses  in  general  social  science.  Such  courses, 
being  strictly  non-partisan,  will  furnish  a  liberal  and  com- 
prehensive equipment  for  those  who  wish  to  enter  upon  pub- 
lic life,  the  law,  the  ministry,  business  pursuits,  or  to  become 
teachers  of  history  and  the  political  and  economic  sciences  in 
schools  and  colleges.  It  is  the  especial  endeavor  to  foster 
those  studies  which  tend  to  raise  the  standard  of  good  citizen- 
ship. The  school  will  embrace  both  undergraduate  and 
graduate  courses,  but  its  leading  endeavors  center  in  the 
latter." 

Nowhere  in  this  country,  perhaps,  could  more  favora- 
ble conditions  have  been  found  for  the  establishment  and 
assured  growth  of  such  a  school.  The  subject  of  history  held 
in  the  university  for  many  years  a  leading  place  under  the 
direction  of  that  accomplished  scholar  and  teacher,  the  late 
Professor  William  F.  Allen.  His  methods  and  spirit  are  in 
a  large  measure  retained  in  the  department.  Economic  and 
political  science  command  the  popular  attention  ;  and  no- 
where could  tliese  subjects  be  more  broadly  and  intelligently 
considered  than  in  a  state  university  in  the  great  Mississippi 
valley.  The  capital  of  the  state,  where  the  political  and 
social  life  are  focused  is  the  proper  home  for  such  a  school. 
The  commissioner  of  labor,  the  commissioner  of  statistics,  the 
board  of  control  of  all  the  penal  and  charitable  institutions 
of  the  state  have  their  offices  here.  The  vicinity  of  great 
cities,  like  Milwaukee  and  Chicago,  give  opportunity  for  prac- 


108  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

tical  study  in  municipal  administration  and  general  soci- 
ology. 

Again,  the  collections  of  the  state  historical  society  are 
invaluable  to  such  a  school.  Its  153,000  books  and  pam- 
phlets, its  abundant  manuscript  material  for  the  study  of 
western  history,  and  its  very  complete  files  of  newspapers  and 
periodicals  extending  over  a  century  and  a  half  furnish 
advantages  for  the  study  of  American  history  certainly  not 
equalled  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  When  one  sees 
this  vast  accumulation  of  material,  it  seems  indeed,  as  a  dis- 
tinguished investigator  recently  said,  that  "the  field  of 
western  history  has  as  yet  been  hardly  scratched.  The  lines 
of  investigation  are  so  many  in  number,  and  all  so  inviting, 
that  one  is  puzzled  which  line  to  follow."  This  combination 
of  advantages  made  it  well  nigh  inevitable  that  at  some  time 
here  would  be  established  a  great  school  of  history  and 
economics.  The  establishment  of  this  school  is  perhaps  the 
crowning  achievement  of  President  Chamberlin's  adminis- 
tration. The  times  were  ripe  for  the  creation  of  such  a 
school.  The  wisdom  of  the  regents  has  been  justified  by  its 
prosperous  beginning.  Not  only  are  its  undergraduate 
classes  crowded,  but  it  begins,  in  a  much  greater  degree  than 
the  most  sanguine  hoped,  its  prime  function,  the  training  of 
graduate  students.  Nearly  thirty  college  graduates  from  all 
parts  of  the  Union  were  waiting  to  enter  when  the  doors  of 
the  school  first  swung  open  in  the  fall  of  1892. 

Much  of  its  success  must  be  credited  to  its  distinguished 
director.  Dr.  Ely.  His  wide  reputation,  as  well  as  the  popu- 
lar interest  in  the  subjects  taught,  and  the  favorable  con- 
ditions for  such  study  in  the  university,  has  drawn  graduate 
students  from  far  distant  parts  of  the  union.  The  faculty  of 
the  school  numbers  in  all  twelve  men,  two  in  history,  two  in 
civil  polity  and  three  in  political  economy  and  general 
sociology,  besides  two  fellows  who  give  instruction  and  three 
special  lecturers. 

University  extension  is  no  new  idea  to  the  university. 
For  nearly  a  decade  it  has  been  doing  practical  extension 
work,  mainly,  however,  iji  industrial  and  professional  lines. 
In  1885  the  farmers'  institutes,  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken,  began  at  various  centers  throughout  the  state  to  dis- 
seminate the  results  of  the  investigations  made  at  the  ex- 
periment station  ;  these  centers  have  now  increased  to  one 
hundred. 

The  teachers'  institute  lectureship,  too,  is  a  means  of 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 


109 


university  extension.  It  provides  for  forty  lectures  by  the 
professor  of  pedagogy  before  as  many  different  institutes 
throughout  the  state. 

The  summer  school  for  teachers  held  at  the  university  dur- 
ing four  weeks  of  the  summer  vacation  for  the  past  six  years, 
further  carries  out  the  extension  idea.  The  school  has  been 
given  a  permanent  official  organization,  and  the  legislature 
has  made  an  annual  appropriation  for  its  support.  The  at- 
tendance at  the  session  of  1892  was  about  200.  There  were 
in  all  about  thirty  courses  offered,  and  the  instructors  were, 
with  one  exception,  members  of  the  university  faculty.     The 


new  school  of  economics,  political  science  and  history  has,  as 
an  organic  part  of  the  school,  a  club,  with  extension  features. 
It  i  s  a  kind  of  permanent  center  from  which  to  spread  the 
results  of  recent  investigations,  and  at  the  same  time  a  place 
where  may  be  brought  together  the  man  of  theories  and  the 
man  of  practical  afifairs,  noted  specialists  at  home  and  from 
abroad,  all  who  are  trying  to  solve  the  great  problems  that 
confront  our  times,  or  striving  for  the  elevation  of  our  civic  life. 
What  is  known  as  the  purely  cultural,  the  English 
university  extension,  was  begun  by  the  university  in  1891. 


110  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF    WISCONSIN. 

One  hundred  and  seven  requests  for  courses  of  lectures  were 
received,  more  than  double  the  number  the  professors  were 
able  to  give  without  serious  interference  with  their  work  in 
the  university.  The  average  attendance  on  the  lectures  was 
170,  while  the  aggregate  attendance  was  8,500.  It  was  soon 
seen  that  this  extra  collegiate  department  must  have  a  faculty 
of  its  own,  special  extension  lecturers.  That  it  is  to  have  a 
great  future  no  one  doubts.  How  best  to  meet  the  demands 
that  will  thus  be  made  upon  the  university  is  the  question. 
The  movement  is  directly  in  line  with  the  fundamental  idea 
and  purpose  of  the  institution,  namely,  to  serve  the  people. 

While  this  extension  of  university  effort  has  been  going 
on,  there  has  been  growing  within  the  university  during 
these  past  five  years  a  tendency  toward  concentration  in 
undergraduate  study.  For  several  years  the  studies  of  the 
junior  and  the  senior  year  were  almost  wholly  elective.  The 
results  were  not  in  all  regards  satisfactory ;  effort  was  some 
times  dissipated  by  a  multiplicity  of  subjects,  and  thorough- 
ness sacrificed  to  obtain  a  smattering  of  many  things.  This 
feeling  has  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  group  system,  not  in 
place  of,  but  along  with,  the  course  system.  With  the  be- 
ginning of  the  college  year  of  1892  this  dual  system  went 
into  operation.  The  central  idea  of  the  group  system  is  that 
the  student  should  learn  a  great  deal  of  one  thing  and  a 
little  of  everything.  Its  object,  as  stated  by  the  university, 
is  to  give  continuity,  concentration  and  thoroughness  to  tiie 
leading  lines  of  study  and  at  the  same  time  to  afford  a  wide 
(though  of  necessity  only  general)  familiarity  with  the  broad 
field  of  knowledge.  The  work  of  the  four  years  is  divided 
into  two  parts,  the  first  consisting  of  a  group  of  basal  studies 
intended  to  furnish  a  solid  foundation  for  the  second  part, 
which  consists  of:  (1)  A  leading  line  of  study  running 
through  two  years,  constituting  the  major  study  of  the 
student.  (2)  A  series  of  assigned  studies  supplementary  to 
it,  selected  by  the  professor  in  charge  of  the  leading  line  ; 
and  (3)  a  series  of  elective  studies  sufficient  to  make  up  a 
full  course.  The  basal  group  of  studies  will  occupy  the  fresh- 
man and  sophomore  years  and  may  in  some  instances  extend 
into  the  junior  year.  The  work  of  the  second  part,  the  uni- 
versity group,  will  occupy  the  junior  and  senior  years. 

These  courses  will  be  supplemented  by  synoptical  lec- 
tures, the  purpose  of  which  is  to  present  the  outlines  of  the 
leading  branches  taught  in  the  university  in  such  a  way  as 
to  convey  the  maximum  of  important  information  in  the 


prot  3,  m.  Stcarne. 

Professor  J.  W.  Htearns,  at  present  occupying-  the  cliair  of  peda- 
gogy in  the  Wisconsin  university,  began  his  work  as  a  teacher 
in  ithis  state  in  the  year  187S.  Before  this  time  he  had  been 
engaged  as  teaclier  of  Latin  in  the  Chicago  university,  and,  from 
1866  to  1874,  professor  of  Latin  in  the  same  institution.  From 
1874  to  1878,  he  was  engaged  as  director  of  the  national  normal 
school  at  Tucuman,  Argentine  Republic. 

In  August,  1878,  he  was  chosen  president  of  the  normal 
school  at  Whitewater,  where  he  established  the  professional 
course  and  laid  the  foundation  for  the  more  distinctly  i)edagogic 
training,  upon  which  basis  the  institution  has  since  steadily  im- 
proved under  his  successor,  Professor  Salisbury. 

In  1888,  Professor  Stearns  was  called  tf)  occupy  the  chair  of 
pedagogy  in  the  state  university,  and  to  organize  and  develop 
courses  of  instruction  in  that  department,  then  first  instituted. 
Beginning  with  few  pupils,  and  always  an  elective  course,  the 
department  has  grown  in  usefulness  and  numbers  till  at  the 
present  time  the  attendance  numbers  fifty-two. 

Professor  Stearns's  work  in  the  state  has  therefore  been 
especially  marked  for  the  impulse  he  has  given  to  the  study  of 
systematic  pedagogy.  The  history,  science  and  art  of  education 
has  become  a  special  sulyect  of  investigation  and  forms  a  dis- 
tinct course  in  the  university  on  a  plane  intended  to  i)repare 
young  men  and  women  to  assume  charge  of  higher  public 
schools,  or  to  teach  special  subjects  in  high  schools  or  col- 
leges. Besides  this  work  Professor  Stearns  has  inaugurated  and 
conducted  the  summer  school  of  science,  which  has  done 
much  to  assist  teachers  to  a  ])etter  mastery  of  the  true  spirit  of 
teaching  those  branches  not  heretofore  emi)hasized  in  the  schools 
of  preparation.  The  numerous  lectures  on  practical  pedagogy 
which  he  has  delivered  before  teachers'  institutes,  and  the  able 
editorship  of  the  Journal  of  Education,  attest  his  usefulness  and 
entitle  him  to  be  remembered  among  those  who  have  been  fore- 
most in  lifting  the  schools  of  Wisconsin  to  a  higher  level,  and 
in  helping  the  teaching  fi-aternity  to  better  methods  and  more  effi- 
cient conduct  of  the  conmion  schools.  Since  1888  the  title  of 
his  chair  in  the  university  has  been  professor  of  philosophy  and 
pedagogy,  a  change  which  throws  into  his  hands  a  large  and 
important  field  of  instruction  additional  to  pedagogy,  which  he 
has  developed  in  many  significant  ways. 

W.  E.  A. 


1^' 


THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN.  Ill 

minimum  of  time,  so  that  the  students  may  become  familiar 
with  the  salient  features  of  subjects  they  are  unable  to  take 
up  as  regular  studies.  The  aim  is  to  broaden  the  students' 
information  and  interest  and  correct  the  effects  of  too  great 
specialization.  These  lectures  have  been  happily  called  "uni- 
versity extension  within  the  university." 

Under  the  course  system  the  university  offers  six  courses 
of  study  leading  to  the  bachelor's  degree.  The  ancient  class- 
ical to  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts  ;  the  modern  classical, 
the  English,  and  the  civic-historical  courses  to  the  bachelor 
of  letters ;  the  general  science  and  pre-medical  courses  to 
bachelor  of  science.  The  name  of  each  course  fairly  indi- 
cates its  central  studies.  Whether  the  group  system  and  the 
course  system  will  live  amicably  together  is  yet  to  be  seen. 
The  method  of  instruction  in  the  two  systems  is  practically 
the  same.  The  laboratory  and  the  seminary  have  become, 
where  practicable,  recognized  factors  both  in  post-graduate 
and  in  undergraduate  study. 

The  feeling  is  steadily  growing  in  the  faculty  that  these 
courses,  being  made  equivalent  in  time  and  effort,  should 
have  but  a  single  degree  ;  and  before  long  the  bachelor  of  arts 
degree  will  likely  be  given  to  all  who  have  completed  any 
one  of  these  six  courses. 

No  sketch  of  the  university,  however  brief,  would  be 
complete  that  did  not  mention  the  literary  societies.  To  do 
the  work  they  require  is  like  taking  an  additional  course. 
Not  including  the  clubs  and  societies  in  the  professional 
schools,  there  are  in  the  academic  department  six  societies, 
four  supported  by  the  young  men  and  two  by  the  young 
women.  Essays  and  orations  receive  only  slight  attention. 
The  burden  of  the  work  is  in  debate.  The  oldest  society 
dates  from  1850 ;  its  chief  rival  was  organized  three  years  later. 
Between  these  two  have  waged  a  friendly  but  most  deter- 
mined conflict.  Their  annual  contest,  "the  joint  debate,"^ 
next  to  commencement,  has  been  perhaps  the  most  impor- 
tant event  of  the  college  year.  No  labor  or  expense  is  spared 
in  preparation.  When,  a  few  years  ago,  the  question  of 
"  prohibition  or  high  license,"  was  debated,  one  of  the  deba- 
ters traveled  widely  through  the  state  of  Maine,  interviewing 
leading  men,  studying  the  workings  of  the  system,  while 
another  was  in  Iowa,  and  a  third  in  Nebraska,  where  the 
operation  of  high  license  was  observed.  Such  great  themes 
as  the  tariff,  prohibition,  bi-metalism,  and  silver  coinage 
have  been  discussed  at  the  time  when  each  was  rising  in 


112  THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

popular  interest.  In  1893  the  question  for  debate  is  :  "  Re- 
solved that  municipal  ownership  and  operation  of  water,  gas 
and  electric  lighting  plants  and  street  railways  is  preferable 
to  private  ownership  and  operation  in  cHies  of  25,000  or  more 
inhabitants."  Although  the  battle  is  no  longer  confined  to 
the  two  old-time  contestants,  the  interest  seems  never  to  flag. 
And  although  the  institution  has  grown  from  a  feeble  college 
to  a  great  modern  university,  and  the  faculty  occasionally 
frown  for  fear  too  much  time  and  effort  is  being  put  upon 
the  joint  debate,  still  the  enthusiasm  is  as  spontaneous  and 
genuine  as  it  was  forty  years  ago.  The  young  women,  too, 
have  their  public  debates,  although  in  their  societies  greater 
prominence  is  given  to  general  literary  work. 

The  general  library  contains  about  26,000  volumes,  while 
the  technical  libraries  in  law,  agriculture  and  astronomy 
aggregate  about  8,000  volumes  additional.  To  these  collec- 
tions may  be  added,  since  the  students  have  free  access  to 
them,  the  city  library  of  12,000  volumes,  the  state  law  library  of 
over  23,000  and  the  invaluable  state  historical  society  library  of 
153,000  volumes,  aggregating  over  250,000  volumes  in  all. 
None  of  these  collections,  however,  is  in  a  building  that  is 
even  supposed  to  be  fire-proof.  Some  day  the  university 
may  be  called  upon  to  mourn  as  one  that  will  not  be  com- 
forted. Money  can  replace  all  that  is  most  valuable  in  the 
city  library  and  the  state  law  library,  but  what  is  most  valua- 
ble in  the  collection  of  the  university  and  of  the  state  histori- 
cal society  once  gone  is  gone  forever.  The  state  should 
cherish  these  collections  as  the  apple  of  its  eye;  and  it  is 
hoped  that  before  long  upon  the  grounds  of  the  univer- 
sity the  state  will  build  for  them  a  convenient  and  secure 
home. 

The  bequests  of  the  university  have  not  been  man}'  in 
number  nor  great  in  amount.  The  feeling  has  prevailed 
that  this  is  the  state  university  and  that  the  great  state  of 
Wisconsin  is  able  to  take  care  of  it.  The  most  considerable 
gift  was  that  of  Hon.  Cadwallader  C.  Washburn,  ex-gover- 
nor of  the  state.  He  generously  constructed  and  completely 
equipped  the  astronomical  observatory  that  bears  his  name. 
In  more  recent  years  the  practice  of  establishing  fellowships 
and  scholarships  has  suggested  a  line  of  future  beneficence. 
It  will  be  seen  before  lung,  that  concentration  is  the  law  in 
educational  institutions  as  it  is  in  commercial  and  industrial 
institutions  ;  that  it  is  practical  wisdom  fully  to  utilize  what 
is  organized  and  established,  and  that  a  gift  is  wisely  made 


114  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF  WISCONSIN. 

when  its  blessings  flow  increasingly  to  the  greatest  number. 
When  this  is  seen,  tiie  vast  accumulations  of  wealth  in  private 
hands  that  the  state  and  society  have  made  possible  will  be 
started  on  their  way  to  bless  the  whole  people  by  the 
upbuilding  of  new  or  the  broadening  and  strengthening  of 
old  departments  in  the  peoples'  university. 

The  state  has  not  been  unmindful  of  the  growing  needs 
of  the  university  in  these  past  five  years.  More  buildings  be- 
came necessary.  The  old  gymnasium  was  burned  in  1890 ; 
it  had  never  been  well  equipped,  nor  equal  to  the  needs  of 
the  students ;  the  law  school  was  cramped  into  narrow  quar- 
ters in  the  capitol  building ;  and  the  growth  of  the  dairy  in- 
terest made  additional  facilities  imperative  for  the  agricultu- 
ral department.  So  the  legislature,  in  1890,  made  an  appro- 
priation "for  the  construction,  equipment  and  maintenance 
of  an  armory  and  drill  room  for  the  military  department  of 
the  university,  a  building  for  the  college  of  law,  and  a  build- 
ing for  practical  instruction  in  dairying,  and  such  modifica- 
tion or  extensions  of  existing  buildings  as  the  growth  of  the 
university  may  require."  Tlie  appropriation  was  not  made 
in  a  gross  sum,  but  in  the  form  of  an  annual  tax  of  one- 
tenth  of  a  mill  for  each  dollar  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  the 
taxable  property  of  the  state  for  the  term  of  six  years,  aggre- 
gating about  $350,000.  The  dairy  building,  costing  $40,000, 
named  "Hiram  Smith  Hall,"  after  the  late  Hon.  Hiram 
Smith,  a  veteran  dairyman  and  regent  of  the  universit}'',  was 
completed  and  occupied  in  the  winter  of  1891-92.  The  law 
building,  costing  $75,000,  is  now  approaching  completion ; 
while  the  gymnasium  and  armory,  costing  $125,000,  will  be 
completed  in  1893.  The  gymnasium  and  armory  is  situated 
on  the  bank  of  the  lake.  It  is  200  feet  long,  100  feet  wide, 
and  two  stories  high.  The  building  is  ample  for  its  double 
purpose.  The  first  floor  will  be  thoroughly  equipped  as  a 
drill  hall  and  the  remainder  as  a  general  gymnasium.  Ath- 
letics have  received  a  fair  amount  of  attention  in  the  univer- 
sity. Until  within  a  couple  of  years  the  contests  without  the 
university  have  mainly  been  with  the  smaller  colleges  of  the 
state.  Tliese  contests  have  not  called  out  the  best  work  of 
the  students  because  such  work  was  not  needed.  Recently 
there  has  been  formed  a  league  including  only  the  larger  in- 
stitutions of  the  West,  the  universities  of  Chicago,  Michigan, 
Minnesota,  Wisconsin  and  the  Northwestern  university. 
With  the  prospect  of  an  evenly  matched  battle  greater  prep- 
aration will  be  made.     The  physical  development  of  the  stu- 


THE  UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN.  115 

dent  has  been  greatly  aided  in  the  past  by  the  military  drill 
which  is  required  of  all  male  students  daily  the  first  two 
years  in  the  university.  With  the  formation  of  the  new 
league,  and  with  the  added  facilities  for  physical  training, 
will  undoubtedly  come  a  deeper  interest  in  athletics  gener- 
ally, and  probably  also  excess  along  some  lines  as  the  train- 
ing becomes  semi-professional.  To  these  facilities  for  physi- 
cal training  may  be  added  the  new  boat-house,  costing  $5,000, 
capable  of  accommodating  eighty  boats,  that  has  been  erected 
the  present  season  by  the  students  in  close  proximity  to  the 
gymnasium  ;  and  the  splendid  advantages  that  Lake  Men- 
dota  has  so  long  offered  are  at  last  to  be  utilized. 

In  1892  President  Chamberlin  resigned  to  become  the 
head  professor  of  geology  in  the  university  of  Chicago.  The 
regents  offered  the  presidency  to  Dr.  Charles  Kendall  Adams, 
late  president  of  Cornell  university.  He  accepted  and  en- 
tered upon  the  duties  with  the  opening  of  the  college  year  of 
1892-93.  The  great  ability  of  Dr.  Adams,  and  his  wide  ex- 
perience in  university  management,  give  assurance  that  there 
will  be  no  halt  in  the  progress  of  the  institution,  but  rather 
that  it  will  attain  a  deeper,  richer  life  and  broader  influence. 
There  will  be,  in  the  next  fifty  years  in  this  upper  Mississippi 
valley,  three  or  four  world-renowned  universities.  The  con- 
testants are  even  now  forming  in  line  for  the  race.  It  is  the 
time  for  the  open  hand  and  the  far-seeing  eye. 

In  this  sketch  I  have  grouped  the  events,  since  the  reor- 
ganization in  1866,  mainly  about  the  executive  of  the  uni- 
versity. The  progress,  however,  has  not  been  due  to  the 
presidents  alone.  The  faculty  of  the  university  has  been  in 
a  marked  degree  able  and  loyal,  and,  as  a  body,  in  close 
touch  with  the  president  and  his  policy.  There  have  been 
specially  trusted  counselors  like  Sterling,  Carpenter,  Allen 
and  Irving.  Variety  of  opinion  there  has  been,  heated 
discussion  often,  but  when  the  vote  has  been  taken  and  the 
direction  determined,  all  have  moved  along  with  one  mind 
and  purpose.  To  the  board  of  regents  also,  in  the  dark  days 
as  well  as  in  the  bright  ones,  a  part  of  the  honor  is  due. 

The  whole  number  of  graduates  at  the  reorganization 
in  1866,  after  sixteen  years  existence,  was  58  ;  in  1892  tlie 
number  of  graduates  from  the  academical  department  alone 
was  1,200,  while  the  total  number  of  graduates,  including 
those  in  law  and  pharmacy,  was  2,097.  Of  this  number, 
282  are  young  women.  The  value  of  the  universitv  grounds 
and  buildings  is  $1,200,000. 


116  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN. 

The  total  income  of  the  university  for  1892  is,  in  round 
numbers,  $275,000,  which,  at  5  per  cent.,  represents  a 
capitalization  of  $5,500,000.  Of  this  annual  income,  about 
$20,000  comes  from  incidental  lees  and  tuition.  In  the 
literary  department,  tuition  to  residents  of  the  state  is  free. 
There  is,  however,  a  small  charge  for  incidental  expenses. 
To  non-resident  students  tuition  is  $6  a  term.  The  matricu- 
lation fee  in  the  law  college  is  $100. 

The  faculty  of  the  university  consists  of  46  professors,  6 
assistant  professors,  20  instructors  and  5  extension  lecturers. 

The  student  body  of  1892-93  is  made  up  of  50  graduate 
students  and  above  1,250  undergraduates.  The  class  grad- 
uating in  1893  will  number  more  than  200. 

What  is  the  history  in  little,  then  ?  A  preparatory 
school  in  1850  ;  the  first  graduating  class  in  1854 ;  from  its  or- 
ganization until  1866  a  struggle  for  its  very  existence  against 
a  hostile  public  sentiment,  that  mismanaged  its  funds  and 
even  plotted  against  its  life ;  after  1866  an  ever-increasing 
popular  friendliness  and  liberality.  Year  by  year  it  has 
broadened  its  scope  and  extended  its  influence  ;  has  adopted 
co-education  ;  and  now  aims  at  nothing  less  than  to  carry  the 
highest  scholarship,  the  latest  discoveries  in  art  and  science, 
into  every  neighborhood  in  the  state.  From  the  stereotyped 
college  for  the  intellectual  training  of  young  men,  it  has  be- 
come the  great  discoverer  and  distributor  of  knowledge  to 
the  whole  people.  Despised  and  rejected,  it  has  come  to 
crown  the  educational  system  of  the  state.  Unhampered  by 
tradition  or  precedent,  it  well  illustrates  the  free  growth  of  the 
modern  university  idea. 

David  B.  Frankenburger. 


Cbarlce  Iken^all  a&am0. 

Charles  Kendall  Adams,  president  of  the  University  ol 
Wisconsin,  was  born  at  Derby,  Vermont,  on  the  24th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1835.  From  the  age  of  ten  until  twenty  he  lived  upon  a 
farm,  attending  a  district  school  during  the  winter  months.  He 
very  early  developed  considerable  aptitude  as  a  student  of 
mathematics,  mastering  Davies'  algebra,  geometry  and  trigo- 
nometry and  surveying  before  he  was  eighteen.  From  1852  to 
1855  he  taught  school  during  the  winter  months.  In  the  fall  of 
1855  he  migrated  to  Iowa,  but  it  was  not  until  after  he  had 
passed  his  twenty-first  birthday  that  he  decided  to  tit  himself 
for  college.  His  preparation  was  completed  at  the  end  of  one 
year  in  the  Denmark  academy,  Iowa,  and  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  in  the  fall  of  1857,  where,  after  supporting 
himself  four  years  by  manual  lal)or,  by  teaching,  and  by  assisting 
in  the  administration  of  the  library,  he  graduated  in  1861. 
Remaining  for  a  graduate  course  of  study,  he  took  the  master's 
degree  in  1862,  and  immediately  thereafter  was  appointed  in- 
structor in  Latin  and  history.  In  1863  he  was  made  assistant 
professor,  a  position  which  he  held  until  1867,  when  he  was 
advanced  to  a  full  professorship  with  the  privilege  of  spending 
a  year  and  a  half  in  P^urope.  After  studying  in  several  of  the 
universities  of  Germany  and  France,  and  spending  about  two 
months  in  Italy,  he  entered  upon  his  career  as  professor  in  the 
autumn  of  1868.  This  position  he  continued  to  hold  until 
1885,  when  he  was  called  to  the  presidency  of  Cornell  univer- 
sity, a  position  which  he  occupied  until  June,  1892,  when  he 
was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 

In  1872,  President  Adams  published  "  Democracy  and 
Monarchy  in  France,"  a  volume  which  soon  went  into  a  third 
edition,  and  was  translated  into  German  and  published  at 
Stuttgart,  in  1873.  A  few  years  later  he  published  the  most 
important  of  his  works,  the  "  Manual  of  Historical  Literature," 
of  which  a  third  edition,  much  revised  and  enlarged,  was  pub- 
lished in  1878.  He  also  edited,  with  historical  and  critical 
notes,  three  volumes  of  British  orations,  designed  to  show  the 
characteristics  and  importance  of  the  greatest  English  orators. 
In  the  summer  of  1892,  he  published  the  life  and  work  of  Chris- 
topher Columbus.  He  is  at  present  editor-in-chief  of  Johnson's 
Universal  Cyclopaedia,  having  as  his  associate  editors  thirty- 
five  of  the  most  prominent  scholars  in  the  country.  The  degree 
of  doctor  of  laws  was  confered  upon  President  Adams  by  Har- 
vard university  in  1886.  He  is  a  member  of  many  learned 
societies,  and  in  1890  was  president  of  the  American  historical 
association. 


Lawrence  University,  at  Appleton. 


The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  has  been  a  pioneer 
church  throughout  the  west.  It  was  primarily  evangelistic 
in  its  work,  carrying  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  into  the  vil- 
lages and  settlements,  the  camps  and  the  lonely  homes  of 
the  hardy  and  adventurous  pioneers ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
it  was  not  unmindful  of  those  other  agencies  of  a  worthy 
civilization,  represented  in  the  common  schools  and  colleges. 
While,  therefore,  its  first  work  was  religious,  scarcely  second 
to  this,  and  recognized  as  vitally  essential  to  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  individual  and  the  state,  the  education  of  the 
youth  was  carefully  provided  for  to  the  extent  of  its  ability. 
Thoroughly  imbued  with  a  patriotic  spirit,  it  early  planned 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  most  liberal  and  advanced 
education  that  the  times  could  afford.  The  country  being 
new  and  sparsely  settled,  and  public  provisions  for  education 
being  only  imperfectly  made,  the  Methodist  church  put 
forth  its  best  efforts,  as  far  as  possible,  to  remedy  the  defect 
by  establishing  centers  of  education  most  convenient  for  the 
people. 

This  was  particularly  true  in  Wisconsin.  As  early  as 
the  winter  of  1838-39,  charters  for  two  academies  were 
obtained  from  the  territorial  legislatures,  and  these  acade- 
mies were  maintained  for  some  years.  In  1846  steps  were 
taken  to  organize  an  institution  of  higher  grade.  By  refer- 
ring to  original  records,  it  appears  that,  in  April,  1846,  Rev. 
William  H.  Sampson,  then  presiding  elder  of  the  Fond  du 
Lac  district,  of  the  Rock  river  conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  received  through  Mr.  H.  Eugene  Eastman, 
of  Green  Bay,  a  proposition  from  a  gentleman,  whose  name 
was  withheld,  to  give  $10,000  for  the  establishment  of  a 
literary  institution,  if  a  similar  sum  could  be  raised  in  the 
territory.  Mr.  Sampson  presented  the  proposition  to  the 
Rock  river  conference  at  its  next  regular  session  in  the 
autumn  of  that  year.  The  conference  reported  favorably, 
and  requested  Mr.  Sampson  to  secure  the  name  of  the  gen- 
tleman making  the  offer,  and  take  steps  at  once  to  consum- 
mate the  arrangement.     In  December  a  charter  was  formed. 


118  LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 

and  its  passage  through  the  legislature  secured.  It  was 
signed  by  Governor  Dodge  January  17,  1847.  The  name  of 
the  donor  of  the  $10,000  was  Amos  A.  Lawrence,  of  Boston, 
Mass.,  and  the  chartered  name  of  the  institution  was  "The 
Lawrence  Institute  of  Wisconsin." 

The  connection  of  Mr.  Lawrence  with  the  educational 
work  of  Wisconsin  is  worthy  of  some  notice.  He  had 
become  interested  in  the  state  by  the  possession  of  a  tract  of 
5,000  acres  of  land  in  the  Fox  river  valley,  known  as  the 
Williams  land.  He  was  drawn  into  this  purchase  through 
a  benevolent  sympathy  with  a  Protestant  Episcopal  mission- 
ary to  the  Oneida  Indians  near  Green  Bay.  His  original 
intention  was  to  establish  an  educational  institution  on  this 
land.  He  wrote  to  his  agent:  "  I  have  been  thinking  more 
of  the  establishment  of  an  institute  of  learning  or  college 
on  the  Williams  land,  and  there  seems  be  a  good  opportu- 
nity not  only  for  improving  the  tone  of  morals  and  the 
standard  of  education  in  that  vicinity,  but  also  of  conferring 
a  lasting  benefit  on  a  portion  of  our  countrymen  who  need 
it."  It  was  found  desirable,  however,  to  select  another  loca- 
tion for  the  Lawrence  institute ;  and,  after  a  careful  canvass 
of  the  cities  and  inducements  that  were  presented  by 
different  parties,  it  was  finally  decided  to  accept  offers  of 
land  in  Grand  Chute,  now  the  city  of  Appleton.  The  Hon. 
George  W.  Lawe  and  Mr.  John  F.  Meade  generously  donated 
sixty-two  acres  of  land  in  Grand  Chute  on  condition  that 
the  Lawrence  institute  should  be  located  on  it.  The  board  of 
trustees  accepted  the  gift  on  the  9th  of  August,  1848,  and 
located  the  Lawrence  Institute  on  this  land. 

In  the  meanwhile,  effort  had  been  made  to  raise  the 
S10,000  on  which  Mr.  Lawrence's  donation  was  contingent. 
Of  this  amount,  Governor  Harris,  of  Rhode  Island,  and  Hon. 
Morgan  L.  Martin,  of  Green  Ba}',  gave  $1,000  each; 
Charles  Durkee,  Esq.,  and  Rev.  Sereno  Fisk,  of  Southport, 
gave  $2,000  each.  It  was  the  intention  to  hold  the  $20,000, 
obtained  from  Mr.  Lawrence  and  by  special  subscription,  for 
building  purposes.  The  organization  under  the  charter  was 
also  completed.  The  thirteen  trustees  named  in  the  act 
of  incorporation  elected  their  officers,  and  divided  them- 
selves into  three  classes,  to  serve  one,  two  and  three  years 
respectively.  The  trustees  were  Revs.  Reeder  Smith,  Henry 
R.  Coleman,  William  H.  Sampson,  Hon.  Mason  C.  Darling, 
Hon.  Morgan  L.  Martin,  Hon.  Nathaniel  P.  Tallraadge, 
Henry  S.  Baird,  Esq.,  Prof.  De  Witt  C.  Vosburg,  Jacob  L. 


LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY.  119 

Bean,  Esq.,  William  Dutcher,  George  E.  H.  Day,  Esq.,  and 
Loyal  H.  Jones.  The  officers  elected  at  the  first  meeting, 
September  3,  1847,  were  as  follows:  President,  M.  C. 
Darling ;  vice-presidents,  N.  P.  Tallmadge  and  H.  S.  Baird ; 
secretary,  W.  H.  Sampson  ;  treasurer,  M,  L.  Martin.  By  the 
charter,  the  Wisconsin  conference  was  entitled  to  be  repre- 
sented in  the  board  at  its  annual  meeting  by  nine  members, 
who  were  ex-officio  members,  and  jointly  with  the  trustees 
transacted  the  business  of  the  institution.  Later,  when  the 
state  of  Wisconsin  was  divided  into  two  conferences,  the 
Wisconsin  and  the  West  Wisconsin,  these  nine  visitors  were 
distributed  between  them,  six  to  the  former  and  three  to  the 
latter. 

The  charter  provided  for  the  organization  of  a  college, 
with  authority  to  confer  all  the  degrees  that  were  conferred 
by  any  of  the  colleges  of  the  United  States,  but  the  trustees 
undertook  at  first  only  the  establishment  of  the  academic 
and  preparatory  departments.  They  could  hardly  have 
done  more.  The  state  of  society  did  not  justify  anything  be- 
yond this.  It  was  necessary  to  create  a  body  of  college 
students  by  means  of  the  preparatory  courses  of  study.  The 
arrangement  of  the  work  at  this  time  included  an  academic 
preparatory  course  of  common  English  studies,  extending 
through  one  year ;  a  collegiate  preparatory  course,  covering 
three  years,  and  qualifying  a  student  to  enter  any  college 
that  he  might  select;  and,  in  addition  to  these,  a  graduate 
course  for  ladies,  corresponding  to  the  best  New  England 
high  school  courses.  Music,  drawing  and  painting  were 
made  elective  in  the  last  course,  and  substituted  for  some  of 
the  regular  branches.  Under  this  organization,  the  institu- 
tion opened  November  12, 1849,  with  the  following  faculty  : 
Rev.  William  H.  Sampson,  principal,  teacher  of  mental 
philosophy,  moral  science,  and  belles-lettres ;  Mr.  Romulus 
O.  Kellogg,  A.  B.,  teacher  of  ancient  languages;  Mr.  James 
M.  Phinney,  teacher  of  mathematics  and  natural  sciences; 
Miss  Emeline  M.  Crooker,  teacher  of  music,  drawing  and 
painting;  Miss  L.  Amelia  Dayton,  teacher  of  modern 
languages. 

The  first  catalogue,  published  for  the  year  1850,  con- 
tains the  following  outline  of  work  to  be  done : 


120 


LA  WHENCE  UNIVERSITY, 


ACADEMIC   PREPARATORY  COURSE,  (iXCLUDIXG   ONE   YEAR). 


IHrat  Quarter. 

Reading.' 
Spelling. 
Arithmetic. 
Grammar. 


Second  Quarter. 

Reading. 
Analysis. 
Aritlimetic. 
Grammar. 


Third  Quarter. 

Arithmetic. 
Grammar. 
Bookkeeping. 
Penmansliip. 


Fourth  Quarter. 

Arithmetic. 
Grammar. 
Geography. 
Penmanship. 


COLLEGIATE  PREPARATORY  COURSE,  (INCLUDING   THREE    YEARS) 
FIRST   YEAR. 
First  Quarter.  Second  Quarter.  Third  Quarter 

Latin.  Latin.  Latin. 

Natural  Philoso-  Natural  Philoso-  Greek. 


Chemistry. 


First  Qtiarter. 

Latin. 

Greek. 

Algebra. 

Mrst  Quarter. 

Latin. 

Greek. 

Algebra. 


phy.  Geology. 

Chemistry.  Botany. 

SECOND   YEAR. 
Second  Quarter.  Third  Quarter. 

Latin.  Latin. 

Greek.  Greek. 

Algebra.  Geometry. 

THIRD   YEAR. 


Fourth  Quarter. 
Latin. 
Greek. 
Geology. 
Botany. 


Mental 
phy. 


Second  Quarter. 
Latin. 
Greek. 
Algebra. 
Philoso-  Moral  Science. 


Third  Quarter. 

Latin. 
Greek. 
Rhetoric. 
Political   Econo- 
my. 


FourVt  Quarter. 

Latin. 

Greek. 

Geometry. 

Fourth  Quarter. 

Latin. 

Greek. 

Elements  of  Crit- 
icism. 

Logic. 


Gentlemen  preparing  for  college  could  omit  any  of  the  above 
branches  not  required  by  the  institution  in  which  they  proposed  to 
graduate. 

GRADUATE  COURSE' FOR   LADIES,  (INCLUDING   THREE  YE.VRS). 
FIRST   YEAR. 


First  Quarter. 

Latin. 

Natural  Philoso- 
phy. 
Chemistry. 


First  Quxirtcr. 

Latin. 

French. 

Algebra. 


First  Quarter. 

Latin. 

Mental  Philoso- 
phy. 

Natural  Theolo- 
gy- 


Second  Quarter. 

Latin. 

Natural  Philoso- 
phy. 

Chemistry. 

Anatomy'  and 
Physiology. 


Third  Quarter. 

Latin. 
French. 
Astronomy. 
Philosophv    and 
Natural  tilistorv 


Fourth  Quarter. 
Latin. 
French. 
Algebra. 


SECOND   YEAR. 
Second  Quarter.  Third  Quarter. 


Latin. 

French. 

Algebra. 


Latin, 

French. 

Geometry. 


Fourth  Quarter. 

Latin. 
French. 
Geometry. 
Botany. 


THIRD   YEAR. 
Second  Quarter.  Third  Quarter.  Fourth  Quarter. 

Latin.  Moral  Science.      Elements  of  Crit- 

Meutal   Philoso-  Rhetoric.  icism. 

phy.  Elements  of  Crit-  Rhetoric. 

Natural   Theolo-      icisra.  Logic. 

gy- 

Moral  Science. 


LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY.  121 

The  preparatory  department  had  hardly  been  organized, 
and  plans  matured  for  the  first  building,  when  it  was  felt 
that  a  different  name  and  larger  privileges  were  necessary  to 
meet  the  ambitious  hopes  entertained  for  the  institution  by 
its  founders.  Very  early  in  1849,  therefore,  steps  were  taken 
to  secure  an  amendment  to  the  "act  to  incorporate  Lawrence 
Institute  of  Wisconsin."  The  "act  to  amend"  was  signed 
March  21,  1849.  By  this  amendment  the  name  of  the  in- 
stitution was  changed  from  Lawrence  Institute  to  Lawrence 
University ;  and  it  was  provided  also  that  the  annual  income 
might  be  increased  from  $10,000  under  the  old  charter  to 
$60,000. 

The  plans  for  the  institute  building,  which  was  intended 
to  accommodate  the  preparatory  department,  were  drawn  and 
approved  as  early  as  the  summer  of  1848.  It  was  quite  a 
pretentious  building  for  the  times  and  place.  The  dimen- 
sions were  70x30  feet,  three  stories  high.  The  first  story 
was  built  of  stone.  In  this  building  were  crowded  recitation 
rooms,  chapel,  dining  and  kitchen  accommodations,  and 
dormitory  apartments.  In  1852,  another  building  was 
erected  in  the  rear  of  the  institute,  which  was  to  be  used  for 
boarding  purposes  exclusively.  The  institute  was  thereby 
left  free  for  recitation  and  dormitory  use.  It  was  completed 
by  the  opening  of  the  school  in  November,  1849.  The  entire 
cost  of  building  and  furnishing  was  about  $7,000.  It  was 
intended  as  soon  as  possible  to  erect  the  main  college  build- 
ing, but  this  undertaking  was  delayed  until  1853.  The 
original  structures  were  burned  in  1856. 

The  land  given  by  Messrs.  Lawe  and  Meade  was  in  the 
center  of  the  present  limits  of  the  city  of  Appleton.  One  lot 
consisted  of  the  blocks  included  between  Oneida  street  on  the 
west.  Drew  street  on  the  east,  Lawrence  street  on  the  south, 
and  College  avenue  on  the  north.  The  other  included  the 
blocks  from  Fox  river  on  the  south  to  North  street  on  the 
north,  and  from  Union  street  on  the  east  to  Drew  street  on 
the  west.  The  section  of  this  land  which  was  occupied  by  the 
first  buildings  was  embraced  in  the  block  situated  between 
College  avenue  and  Lawrence  street,  and  Morrison  and 
Durkee  streets.  The  institute  was  near  the  center  of  the 
block,  and  fronted  on  College  avenue.  The  steward's  house, 
afterwards  erected,  fronted  on  Lawrence  street.  After  the 
burning  of  these  buildings,  this  land  was  sold.  The  sale 
took  place  early  in  April,  1857.  A  little  later  than  this  a 
boarding  house  was  built  on  the  lot  east  of  Durkee   street. 


122  LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 

but  it  was  afterwards  sold,  and  the  land  on  which  it  stood 
was  also  sold.  About  one-half  of  the  original  gift  of  land 
had  been  disposed  of,  and  there  remained  for  the  use  of  the 
university  the  blocks  extending  north  from  the  Fox  river  to 
North  street. 

The  projectors  of  this  educational  enterprise  had  a  large 
faith  in  the  future.  They  made  a  heavy  draft  upon  the 
possibilities  of  the  surrounding  country  and  the  state.  They 
laid  tiieir  plans  with  reference  to  a  very  rapid  and  extensive 
development  of  the  Northwest.  Yet,  in  tlie  early  days  of 
the  undertaking,  a  virgin  soil  and  a  primeval  forest,  almost 
trackless  but  for  Indian  trails,  extended  in  all  directions. 
There  was  only  one  house  in  what  is  now  known  as  Kau- 
kauna,  when  Grand  Chute  was  selected  for  the  site  of  a 
literary  institution,  and  Grand  Chute  itself  was  hardly  better 
furnished  with  dwelling  houses.  Fond  du  Lac  was  the 
nearest  place  of  any  importance  to  the  south,  and  Green  Bay 
on  the  north.  It  was  thought,  in  fact,  that  such  an  institu- 
tion as  was  contemplated  would  shortly  develop  a  town. 
The  conjecture  was  soon  found  to  be  correct.  People  in 
search  of  a  home  in  this  new  country,  where  they  might  find 
educational  advantages  for  their  children,  selected  Appleton. 
The  place  grew  very  rapidly,  and,  when  the  school  opened 
in  1849,  about  two-thirds  of  the  thirty-five  pupils  who  as- 
sembled on  the  first  day  of  the  term  were  from  the  village 
of  Appleton.  In  two  years,  there  were  two  hundred  students 
in  attendance  at  Appleton,  most  of  whom  were  from  the 
immediate  vicinity,  but  many  of  whom  were  from  other  and 
distant  parts  of  the  state,  and  some  from  other  states.  For 
many  years,  the  most  important  and  attractive  feature  of  the 
place  was  Lawrence  University.  All  the  people  took  a 
■cordial  interest  in  its  welfare,  and  in  turn  it  contributed 
financially,  morally,  educationally  and  religiously  to  the 
well-being  of  the  community. 

In  this  sketch  of  Lawrence  university,  it  is  important 
to  mention  the  purpose  which  was  embraced  in  its  establish- 
ment. A  Christian  education,  or  an  education  permeated 
and  guided  by  Christian  truth  and  the  Christian  spirit,  was 
unquestionably  the  design  of  the  projectors  of  this  institu- 
tion. They  were  entirely  in  sympathy  with  the  prevailing 
conviction  of  the  time,  that  an  all-round  education  involved 
the  moral  character  as  well  as  the  intellect,  and  that  the  de- 
velopment of  such  a  character  was  best  secured  under  the 
fostering  influences  of  Christian  teachings  and  lives.     This 


LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY.  123 

was  the  feeling  of  Mr.  Lawrence,  as  well  as  of  the  Methodist 
Church.  There  was  a  favorable  response  to  this  belief 
among  all  thoughtful  men.  The  spirit,  however,  in  which 
this  work  was  undertaken  was  exceedingly  liberal.  No  at- 
tempt was  made  to  provide  in  a  narrow  way  for  such  in- 
struction as  would  chiefly  emphasize  the  doctrines  and  usages 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  The  freest  and  broadest 
education  in  every  department  of  human  knowledge  was  to 
be  prosecuted  under  the  direction  and  safeguards  of  those 
great  principles  of  truth  which  were  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 
Every  effort  was  to  be  made  to  promote  the  character  and 
religious  life  of  the  student.  In  short,  the  dangers  of  the 
congregated  life  of  a  center  of  learning,  and  the  equally  great 
dangers  attending  wrong  conceptions  of  truth,  w^ere  to  be 
met  by  a  reverent  and  earnest  religious  spirit.  A  section  in 
the  charter  set  forth  very  fully  tiie  thought  and  plan  of  the 
founders :  "  No  religious  tenets  or  opinions  shall  be  requis- 
ite as  a  qualification  for  the  ofl&ce  of  a  trustee,  except  a  full 
belief  in  a  divine  revelation  ;  nor  of  any  students  shall  any 
religious  tenets  be  required  to  entitle  them  to  all  the  privi- 
leges of  the  institution  ;  and  no  particular  tenets,  distin- 
guishing between  the  different  Christian  denominations, 
shall  be  required  as  a  qualification  for  professors  in  said 
institution;  and  no  student  shall  be  required  to  attend  re- 
ligious worship  with  any  specific  denomination,  except  as 
specified  by  the  student  himself,  his  parents  or  guardians." 
As  a  consequence,  students  from  all  denominations,  not  exclud- 
ing Catholics  and  Lutherans,  have  been  educated  in  Lawrence 
university,  while  the  religious  spirit  and  activity  have 
always  been  at  the  front. 

The  organization  of  the  college  department  was  not  com- 
pleted until  1853,  although  opportunity  for  taking  college 
studies  had  already  been  offered  to  students.  In  September, 
1852,  Rev.  Edward  Cooke,  A.  M.,  a  native  of  New  Hampshire, 
and  graduate  of  Wesleyan  university  in  1838,  was  elected  pre- 
sident. He  was  serving  at  the  time  a  church  in  Boston,  Mass., 
and  w^as  unable  to  leave  it  until  the  following  spring.  He 
entered  upon  his  duties  with  Lawrence  University  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1853.  Rev.  William  H.  Sampson,  who  had  hitherto 
served  as  principal  of  the  preparatory  department,  was  elected 
to  teach  mathematics  and  the  English  branchesin  the  pre- 
paratory school.  Other  changes  were  made  in  the  faculty, 
and  there  were  some  additions  to  it,  in  anticipation  of  the 
more  extended  work  which  it  was  intended  to  undertake. 


124  LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 

On  the  advent  of  Dr.  Cooke,  the  organization  of  the  col- 
lege at  once  began.  It  was  divided  into  two  departments, 
one  for  the  gentlemen  and  the  other  for  the  ladies,  called  the 
collegiate  and  the  female  collegiate.  The  former  embraced 
two  courses,  the  ancient  classical  and  the  scientific,  and  those 
who  completed  them  received  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts, 
or  bachelor  of  science,  according  to  the  course  selected. 
Ladies  who  graduated  from  the  female  collegiate  received  the 
lady  baccalaureate  of  arts.  If  ladies  desired,  however,  they 
were  permitted  to  take  either  of  the  other  two  courses,  and 
received  the  appropriate  degree.  While  thus  they  were 
admitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  university  on  the  same 
conditions  as  the  gentlemen,  from  1854  to  1856,  the  female 
collegiate  department  was  under  the  government  of  a  sepa- 
rate faculty,  and  the  ladies  enjoyed  a  commencement  day  of 
their  own.  The  catalogue  of  1854  shows  a  freshman  class  of 
twenty-two  gentlemen  and  a  sophomore  class  of  two.  In 
the  ladies'  department,  the  female  collegiate,  there  were  two 
ladies  in  the  second  or  sophomore  class,  and  eight  in  the  first 
or  freshman  class. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  call  attention 
to  the  fact,  that,  while  the  older  colleges  in  the  East  had  not 
so  much  as  dreamed  of  admitting  ladies  to  equal  standing 
and  privileges  with  gentlemen,  Lawrence  University,  in  the 
forests  of  the  west,  in  a  state  that  bordered  civilization,  was 
among  the  first  in  the  United  States  to  open  its  doors  uncon- 
ditionally to  ladies  as  well  as  gentlemen.  The  significance 
of  the  fact  as  a  pioneer  movement  is  seen  in  the  present  trend 
of  college  and  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  giving  women 
equal  educational  opportunities  with  men. 

The  requirements  for  admission  to  the  college  for  all  are 
thus  stated  in  the  catalogue  of  1853  :  ''Candidates  for  the 
classical  course  must  be  prepared  to  pass  a  satisfactory  ex- 
amination in  arithmetic ;  algebra  through  simple  equations ; 
ancient  and  modern  geography ;  the  outlines  of  ancient  and 
modern  history  ;  the  English,  Latin  and  Greek  grammars ; 
six  books  of  Virgil's  iEneid ;  Cicero's  orations  ;  two  books  of 
Caesar's  commentaries ;  the  Greek  reader  or  its  equivalent, 
and  the  Grecian  and  Roman  mythology  and  antiquities.  The 
scientific  course  will  embrace  all  the  studies  of  the  regular 
course  except  the  ancient  languages." 


LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 
COURSE  OF  STUDY. 


125 


FIRST   YEAR 


Mathematics. 


Classics. 


Ovid 


Algebra.  Classics. 

Elements  of  Geometry,  Latin,   Sallust 
six  books.  Livy. 

Greek,  Xenophon's 
Anabasis  ;  Homer's 
Iliad ;  Classical  Geog- 
raphy and  Antiqui- 
ties ;  written  transla- 
tions and  exercises. 


Englinh. 

English  Grammar  re- 
viewed ;  English 
Composition ;  Paley's 
Nat.  Theology  ;  Reci- 
tations and  exercises 
in  Reading,  Saturday 
forenoons. 


SECOND   YEAR. 
Mathematics,  Classics.  English. 

Geometry     of    planes  Cicero    de    Senectute  ;  Rhetoric. 

and  solids.  Cicero     de    Officiis  ;  Evidences  of  Christian- 

Plane    and     Spherical     ^schines     on      the     ity. 

Crown  ;  Plato's  Gor-  English    Composition, 
gias ;    Greek    Trage-      Declamation,  E.locu- 
dies ;      History       of     tion. 
Greek    and     Roman 
Literature. 


Trigonometry  ;  Ana- 
lytical Geometry  ; 
Men.,  Nav.  and  Surv. 


MathemaMcs. 

Differential  Cal- 
culus and  Inte- 
gral Calculus 
with  applica- 
tions. 

Mechanics. 


THIRD   YEAR. 

Natural  Science.  Classics. 

Philosophy       of  Tacitus. 
Natural  Histo-  R  o  b  i  n  s  o  n's 


rj'^  ;    Physiolo- 

fy;  Natural 
'hilosophy  ; 
H  y  drostatics  ; 
P  n  e  u  m  atics  ; 
Optics ;  Elec- 
tricity ;  Mag- 
netism. 


Greek  Harmo- 
ny of  the  Gos- 
pels, a  Mon- 
day morning 
recitation. 


English , 

Logic. 
Elements    of 

Moral  Science. 
Constitution     of 

U.S. 
General  History. 
Composition  and 

Declamation. 


FOURTH   YEAR. 


Mathematics. 

Astronomy. 

Civil  Engineer- 
ing, with  the 
practical  use  of 
instruments. 


Classics. 


Natural  Science. 


Demosthenes  on  Chemistry, 
the  Crown.         Geology. 

Mineralogy. 


English. 

Mental  Philoso- 
phy. 

Lectures  on 
Rhetoric. 

Political  Econo- 
my. 

Original  Decla- 
mations dur- 
ing the  year. 

Hebrew  and  the  Modern  Languages  were  offered  as  electives. 


126  LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 

FEMALE  COLLEGIATE  DEPARTMENT. 

I  FIRST   YEAR. 

Same  as  the  first  year  of  the  preceding  course. 

SECOND  YEAR. 

Mathematics.  English.  Natural  Science. 

Geometry,  Planes  and  Rhetoric.  Philosophy  of  Natural 

Solids."  Evidences     of    Chris-      History. 

Spherical    Trigonome-      tianity.  Physiology. 

try.  Logic.  Botany. 

Mensuration  of  heights  Moral  Science.  Modern  Language, 

and  distances,  Nav.  Constitution  of  U.    S. 
and  Surv.  and  General  Histor5\ 

Composition  and  exer- 
cises in  Reading. 

THIRD    Y'EAR. 

MathemaMcs.  Natural  Science.  English.  Modern  Languages. 

Astronomy.  Natural  Philoso-  Mental   Philoso-  French. 

Mechanics.  phy(Hj'dro8ta-      phy.  German. 

tics,  Pneumat-  Political   Econo- 

ics,    Optics,       my. 

Electricity,  Criticism. 

M  a  g  n  e  tism) ;  General  History. 

Lectures; 

C  h  e  m  i  s  t  ry  ; 

Geology. 

Music,  Drawing  and  Painting  were  elective  and  received  as  an 
equivalent  for  a  part  of  this  course. 

A  library  was  begun  at  a  very  early  date.  In  the 
catalogue  of  1851-52,  tlie  fact  is  announced  that  250  books 
have  been  donated  to  the  institution.  In  1853  "several 
hundred  standard  books"  are  reported  as  having  been  added 
to  the  library.  The  number  was  steadily  increased  from 
lime  to  time  by  donation  and  purchase,  until  1855,  when  a 
permanent  endowment  for  the  library  was  secured  through 
a  munificent  bequest  of  $10,000  from  the  estate  of  Samuel 
Appleton,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  Mass.  The  income  of  this  sum 
was  to  be  devoted  to  the  enlargement  of  the  library.  Accord- 
ing to  the  catalogue  of  1856,  the  college  library  contained 
between  three  and  four  thousand  well  selected  volumes, 
representing  different  departments  of  study.  This  regular 
income  has  proved  an  invaluable  aid  in  the  work  of  the 
university.  Additions  have  been  made  each  year,  as  the 
income  has  permitted,  and  the  teachers  and  students  have 
thereby  been  furnished  with  the  most  important  works  em- 
bracing current  discussions  and  investigations.  The  library 
has  now  grown  to  13,000  volumes.     At  first  the  students  had 


LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY.  127 

access  to  it  at  stated  hours  for  a  small  fee  per  term.  It  is 
now  open  every  secular  day  from  8  o'clock  a.  m.  to  6  o'clock 
p.  m.,  except  Saturday  p.  m.  The  students  have  the  freest 
use  of  the  books,  which  thej-  are  expected  to  consult  in  pre- 
paring their  work  for  the  class-room. 

At  the  same  time,  the  formation  of  a  cabinet  was  under- 
taken, and  the  friends  of  the  enterprise  were  invited  to  make 
such  contribution  as  they  might  be  able  to  this  much  needed 
department  of  educational  work.  In  the  catalogue  of  1854 
the  success  was  recorded  in  the  following  statement:  "A 
valuable  collection  of  minerals,  fossils,  shells,  maps,  diagrams, 
curiosities,  a  well -arranged  herbarium,  &c.,  &c.,  have  been 
recently  added  to  the  college  cabinet."  A  continuous  effort  was 
made,  by  purchase  and  otherwise,  to  enlarge  and  enrich  the 
cabinet  with  specimens  from  the  United  States  and  foreign 
countries.  The  most  important  addition  that  has  ever  been 
made  was  the  purchase  in  1891  of  the  large,  well  classified 
and  well  selected  conchological  cabinet  of  Dr.  J.  J.  Brown,  of 
Sheboygan.  It  is  a  monument  of  patient  industry  main- 
tained through  a  period  of  twenty-five  years  or  more.  Dr. 
Brown  was  engaged  by  the  Smithsonian  institute  for  several 
years,  traveling  extensively  in  the  interest  of  its  department 
of  natural  history,  collecting  for  himself  as  well  as  for  it. 
He  afterwards  pursued  his  work  privately  for  the  deep 
interest  that  he  had  in  it,  and  greatly  added  to  the  value  of  his 
personal  collection.  In  the  same  year,  Hon.  John  Hicks 
made  some  contributions  to  the  department  of  archaeology 
from  collections  secured  in  Peru.  The  cabinet  is  fairly  well 
provided  with  mineralogical  specimens,  and  is  used  in  con- 
nection with  work  done  in  natural  history. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  college  work  also,  quite  exten- 
sive apparatus  for  use  in  connection  with  the  study  of  the 
physical  sciences  and  astronomy  was  provided.  The  outline 
list  published  in  the  catalogue  seems  meagre  enough  now^ 
but  at  the  time  it  was  thought  worthy  of  mention.  We  find 
among  the  articles  named  "a  telescope,  two  electrical 
machines — one  medium,  the  other  of  the  largest  size — a 
compound  microscope,  compound  blow-pipe,  batteries,  air- 
pumps,  set  of  mechanical  powers,  &c.,  &c." 

In  1853,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  college  building 
was  laid.  The  building  was  completed  the  following  year. 
It  was  built  of  stone.  Its  dimensions  were  120x60  feet  with 
four  stories  and  a  basement.  It  was  intended  for  recitation 
and  dormitory  purposes.     The  cabinet,  chapel,  library,  and 


128  LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 

the  laboratories  were  also  accommodated  in  it.  It  has  been 
used  less  and  less  for  dormitories  on  account  ot  the  constantly 
increasing  demand  for  recitation  rooms.  At  the  present 
time  only  the  janitors  room  in  the  building.  In  addition  to 
the  above  uses,  the  two  literary  societies  of  the  gentlemen 
and  the  Young  Men's  Christian  association  are  provided  for 
here.     The  original  cost  of  the  structure  was  about  ^30,000. 

It  was  clearly  seen  from  the  beginning  that  it  would  be 
necessary  in  some  way  to  raise  a  permanent  endowment,  for 
the  support  of  the  faculty  and  the  payment  of  such  other  ex- 
penses as  would  annually  occur.  This  was  no  easy  matter 
to  accomplish  in  a  newly  and  sparsely  settled  country.  The 
people,  as  a  rule,  had  been  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  the  effort 
to  provide  homes  and  establish  business  in  a  wild  and  un- 
broken territory.  The  gifts  of  Mr.  Lawrence  with  the  ten 
thousand  raised  to  secure  this  gift  had  served  only  to  start 
the  undertaking  ;  much  more  was  needed  to  carry  it  forward 
successfully.  Accordingly,  in  1853,  the  trustees  adopted  a 
plan  for  raising  $100,000.  They  offered  for  sale  two  thousand 
scholarships,  each  of  which  should  entitle  the  holder  per- 
petually to  the  tuition  of  one  scholar  in  the  preparatory 
department  or  in  the  college,  or  both.  The  price  of  each 
perpetual  scholarship  was  $50,  paj'ablein  three  equal  annual 
installments,  with  interest  in  advance  on  the  unpaid  portions. 
Two  agents  were  put  in  the  field,  and  in  the  early  part  of 
the  year  $30,000  were  pledged  on  the  plan.  The  needs  of 
the  institution  were  met  to  a  degree  for  the  time.  The 
entire  amount  asked  for  was  never  secured.  Tt)e  scholar- 
ships in  after  years  materially  lessened  the  income  of  the 
institution,  and  have  always  embarrassed  considerably  the 
financial  management. 

Lawrence  University  has  had  much  the  same  experience 
that  all  institutions  have  which  are  supported  by  benevolent 
contributions.  It  has  had  its  periods  of  financial  depression 
and  prosperity.  Some  gifts  and  bequests  at  different  times 
have  given  encouragement,  and  very  materially  assisted  in 
carrying  on  the  work.  In  1860,  Hon.  Lee  Claflin.of  Boston, 
Mass.,  gave  property  to  the  amount  of  $10,000.  In  1885,  C. 
N.  Paine,  Esq.,  of  Oshkosh,  bequeathed  $50,000  to  Lawrence 
University  for  the  endowment  of  a  chair.  It  became  avail- 
able in  1891,  and  was  made  an  endowment  for  the  presi- 
dent's chair  of  Christian  evidences  and  ethics.  In  the  same 
year,  the  university  received  $10,000  from  the  estate  of  Will- 
iam Drown,  Esq,  of  Beaver  Dam.     Other  gifts  have  been 


LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY.  129 

•made  of  various  amounts,  either  in  cash  or  its  equivalent,  or 
in  notes  bearing  interest. 

An  effort  was  made  in  1858  to  add  a  school  of  civil  en- 
gineering. It  was  called  the  department  of  industrial  science. 
It  was  thoroughly  and  broadly  organized,  but  it  was  main- 
tained only  four  years. 

In  the  same  year  in  which  the  department  of  industrial 
science  was  established,  a  normal  department  was  created. 
It  was  under  the  direction  and  supervision  of  the  board  of 
regents  of  normal  schools.  For  its  maintenance  in  the  in- 
terest of  education  in  the  state,  an  appropriation  was  made 
annually  for  some  years  by  the  legislature.  This  department 
was  continued  until  1862. 

During  the  war  of  the  great  rebellion,  Lawrence  Univer- 
sity was  well  represented  in  its  alumni  and  students.  Under 
the  leadership  of  one  of  its  professors,  Prof.  Henry  Pomeroy, 
a  large  number  went  into  the  field.  Some  sacrificed  their 
lives  for  their  country ;  others,  after  serving  their  full  term, 
returned  to  do  noble  service  at  home. 

One  of  the  marked  features  of  the  student  life  in  Law- 
rence is  seen  in  connection  with  its  literary  societies.  Some 
of  these  have  been  maintained  with  enthusiasm  and  vigor 
almost  from  the  first.  All  the  exercises  and  business  of  these 
societies  are  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  most  approved 
parliamentary  laws.  Declamations,  debates,  essays, extempore 
addresses,  with  miscellaneous  work,  make  these  societies  an 
education  in  themselves.  They  are  public  societies.  There 
are  no  secret  societies.  Two  of  these,  the  Philalathean  and 
Phoenix,  are  gentlemen's  societies,  and  have  their  rooms  in 
the  college  building.  The  other  two,  the  Athena  and  Law- 
rean,  are  ladies'  societies,  and  have  their  rooms  in  Ormsby 
hall.  The  Philalathean  society  was  organized  in  1853  under 
the  name  of  the  Lawrence  club;  in  1854,  it  became  the 
Lawrence  literary  association  ;  in  1855,  it  took  its  present 
name.  The  Phoenix  society  was  organized  in  March,  1855. 
Its  membership  since  that  time  numbers  1,209.  The  Athena 
society  was  formed  in  the  early  ^'^ears  of  the  existence  of  the 
college.  The  Lawrean  society  was  formed  in  1870.  It  has  a 
daintily  and  appropriately  furnished  suite  of  rooms.  The 
ladies'  societies,  like  those  of  the  gentlemen,  are  doing  excel- 
lent literary  work. 

These  literary  societies  publish  the  college  paper,  the 
Lawrentian.  The  histor}'  of  this  paper  is  an  evolution.  The 
Oollegian    was  first  published   December,  1867,    under   the 


130  LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 

auspices  of  the  Phoenix  society.  The  Neoterian  was  organ- 
ized March,  1876,  and  was  edited  by  the  Philalathean  and 
Athena  societies.  Out  of  these  two,  in  January,  1878,  came 
the  Lawrentian.  The  Collegian  and  Neoterian  were  united 
in  January,  1878,  and  published  under  this  double  name 
until  1882.  The  present  paper,  the  Lawrentian,  was  organized 
May,  1884.  It  is  edited  and  published  by  a  committee  from 
the  four  societies. 

Ormsby  hall,  a  beautiful  brick  and  stone  structure,  for 
the  accommodation  of  lady  students,  largely  the  gift  of  D.  G. 
Ormsby,  Esq.,  of  Milwaukee,  was  dedicated  in  June,  1889. 
It  is  provided  with  ail  modern  improvements,  reception  room^ 
parlors,  gymnasium,  a  commodious  dining  hall  and  pleasant 
dormitory  rooms.  It  contains  likewise  the  halls  of  the  ladies' 
literary  societies. 

In  1890,  the  project  of  building  and  equipping  an  as- 
tronomical observatory  was  suggested  and  undertaken  by 
Professor  L.  W.  Underwood.  He  met  with  generous  favor 
among  the  citizens  of  Appleton,  who  subscribed  most  of  the 
money  needed  for  the  erection  of  the  building.  The  instru- 
ments were  provided  by  subscriptions  of  friends  in  various 
parts  of  the  state.  The  Underwood  Observatory,  which  was 
completed  and  dedicated  in  October,  1891,  is  a  beautiful  two- 
story  building,  containing  the  mathematical  recitation  room, 
transit,  computation  and  library  rooms,  and  furnishes  ample 
accommodations  for  astronomical  and  mathematical  work. 
The  telescope,  with  a  ten-inch  aperture,  the  gift  of  Hon, 
Philetus  Sawyer,  of  Oshkosh,a  transit  circle,  Repsold  pattern, 
a  sidereal  and  mean-time  clock,  a  chronograph  and  a  spectro- 
scope are  now  in  use.  The  instruments  are  in  electric  com- 
munication with  each  other,  and  the  mean-time  clock  is  con- 
nected with  the  jewelry  stores  of  the  city,  to  which  it  sends 
its  time  every  five  minutes. 

Lawrence  University,  embracing  Lawrence  Institute,  has 
had  seven  presidents.  Rev.  William  H.  Sampson  was  prin- 
cipal of  the  preparatory  department,  with  an  intermission  of 
a  year,  until  1853.  He  died  in  1892.  Rev.  Edward  Cooke, 
A.  M.,  was  elected  to  the  presidency  in  1852,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  until  1860.  He  was  honored  Avith  the  degree 
of  D.  D.  from  McKendree  college  and  Harvard.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  Russell  Zelotes  Mason,  LL.  D.,  who  re- 
mained in  his  position  until  1865.  He  received  his  degree 
of  LL.  D.  from  the  University  of  Wisconsin.  Rev.  George 
McKendree  Steele  was  elected  president  June  27,  1865.     He 


LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY.  131 

resigned  in  1879,  after  a  period  of  service  of  fourteen  years. 
He  received  D.  D.  from  the  Northwestern  University,  and 
LL.  D.  from  Lawrence  University.  Rev.  E.  D.  Huntley,  D. 
D.,  LL.  D.,  succeeded  Dr.  Steele  in  June,  1879,  and  resigned 
in  1884.  Rev.  B.  P.  Raymond,  an  alumnus  of  Lawrence, 
was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  same  year,  and  served 
in  that  capacity  until  called  to  the  presidency  of  Wesleyan 
University,  Middletown,  Conn.,  1889.  He  received  the  degree 
of  D.  D.  from  Northwestern  University,  and  LL.  D.  from  his 
alma  mater.  Rev.  C.  W.  Gallagher,  D.  D.,  was  elected  to  the 
presidency  in  June,  1889. 

Seventy-three  professors  and  teachers  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  institution.  Professor  H.  A.  Jones  has  been 
with  it  almost  from  the  beginning;  Professor  J.  C.  Foye,  Ph. 
D.,  since  1867. 

The  entire  number  of  students  who  have  been  in  at- 
tendance at  Lawrence  at  different  times  is  over  three  thou- 
sand. Three  hundred  and  seventy-six  have  been  graduated, 
of  whom  133  have  been  ladies.  The  living  graduates  are 
distributed  among  the  states  as  follows :  Wisconsin,  182 ; 
Maine,  3  ;  Massachusetts,  9 ;  Connecticut,  2  ;  New  York,  7  ; 
New  Jersey,  1  ;  Michigan,  7  ;  Illinois,  26;  Ohio,  1 ;  Indiana, 
2;  Missouri,  2;  Kansas,  8 ;  Iowa,  7;  Minnesota,  17 ;  North 
Dakota,  1  ;  South  Dakota,  9  ;  Colorado,  9  ;  Utah,  1 ;  Montana, 
2 ;  California,  18  ;  Washington,  10 ;  Nebraska,  4 ;  Virginia,  1 ; 
Washington,  D.  C.,  1 ;  Georgia,  1 ;  Florida,  1 ;  Texas,  3  ;  Ark- 
ansas, 1 ;  New  Brunswick,  I  ;  Brazil,  1 ;  Prussia,  2 ;  India,  1 
China,  1 ;  South  America,  1. 

The  present  campus  consists  of  ten  acres,  fronting  on 
College  avenue,  and  extending  back  to  the  Fox  river.  There 
are  four  buildings:  University  hall,  the  main  college  build- 
ing ;  Ormsby  hall ;  Underwood  observatory ;  president's 
house.  The  grounds  north  of  College  avenue  were  sold 
some  years  ago. 

PLAN  OF    WORK. 

A  preparatory  department  is  maintained,  in  which  stu- 
dents are  fully  qualified  for  entrance  upon  any  of  the  col- 
legiate courses. 

The  college  of  liberal  arts  has  been  organized  in  three 
courses,  the  ancient  classical,  philosophical  and  scientific, 
leading  respectively  to  the  degrees  of  bachelor  of  arts,  bach- 
elor of  philosophy  and  bachelor  of  science. 

Students  who  are  not  candidates  for  a  degree  may  take 
an  elective  course,  selecting  any  study  which,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  faculty,  they  are  qualified  to  pursue. 


132  LAWRENCE   UNIVERSITY. 

A  good  business  education  is  provided  in  the  commer- 
cial department.  Commercial  law,  stenography  and  type- 
writing are  made  specialties. 

A  literary  and  musical  course,  leading  to  the  degree  of 
bachelor  of  music,  including  instrumental  and  vocal  music 
and  harmony,  is  offered  to  those  who  desire  to  attain  the 
highest  musical  culture.  Two  courses  are  arranged,  extend- 
ing through  a  period  of  five  years,  the  one  for  pianists,  and 
the  other  for  organists.  The  literary  work  for  these  courses 
is  that  of  the  scientific  to  the  end  of  the  sophomore  year, 
excepting  the  Latin,  the  French  and  the  physics.  The  liter- 
ary work  in  the  junior  year  embraces  ten  hours  each  week 
in  the  studies  of  the  junior  and  senior  year.  Any  student 
completing  the  musical  work  without  the  literary  will  receive 
a  certificate  for  the  same. 

Instruction  in  painting  and  drawing  is  given  either 
with  or  without  literary  work.  A  regular  course  in  this 
department  is  the  same  as  the  musical  course,  so  far  as 
the  literary  work  is  concerned.  A  certificate  is  given  to  all 
who  complete  the  course. 

The  faculty  are :  Rev.  Charles  W.  Gallagher,  D.  D., 
president,  and  the  C.  N.  Paine  professor  of  ethics  and 
Christian  evidences;  Hiram  A.  Jones,  A.  M.,  Lee  Clafiin 
professor  of  the  Latin  language  and  literature ;  James  C. 
Foye,  A.  M.,  Ph.  D.,  vice-president,  and  the  Alexander  W. 
Stow  professor  of  chemistry,  and  instructor  in  physics; 
Rev.  Henry  Lummis,  D.  D.,  professor  of  Greek  language 
and  literature,  and  instructor  in  metaphysics;  Dexter  P. 
Nicholson,  M.  S.,  alumni  professor  of  natural  history  and 
geology ;  L.  Wesley  Underwood,  M.  S.,  professor  of  mathe- 
matics and  astronomy,  and  director  of  the  observatory ; 
Thomas  E.  "Will,  A.  M.,  Francis  A.  Watkins  professor  of  his- 
tory and  political  science,  founded  by  Hon.  Lee  Clafiin,  of 
Boston,  1861 ;  Eliza  J.  Perley,  A.  M.,  preceptress,  and  in- 
structor in  French  and  in  English  literature ;  Jennie  E. 
Woodhead,  M.  S.,  instructor  in  German ;  Mrs.  Ella  M.  Bot- 
tensek,  instructor  in  painting  and  drawing  :  John  Silvester, 
professor  of  vocal  and  instrumental  music ;  Zelia  A.  Smith, 
M.  S.,  librarian ;  Oliver  P.  DeLand,  professor  of  bookkeep- 
ing and  commercial  arithmetic ;  John  T.  Bushey,  assistant 
in  bookkeeping  and  business  practice;  A.  B.  Whitman,  A. 
M.,  professor  of  commercial  law ;  Erna  Zimmerman,  instruc- 
tor in  stenography  and  typewriting  ;  J.  E.  Woodhead,  M.  S.. 
registrar  and  secretary  of  the  faculty. 

Chas.  W.  Gallagher. 


Beloit  College. 


Happy  is  the  college  with  whose  beginnings  are  asso- 
ciated things  of  a  picturesque,  impressive,  emblematic,  or 
elevating  sort.  At  Yale  there  was  the  little  group  of  clergy- 
men laying  down  a  i'ew  precious  books  and  saying :  "  I  give 
these  books  for  the  founding  of  a  college  in  this  colony ; " 
in  Massachusetts,  the  frail  but  scholarly  young  clergyman, 
John  Harvard,  dying  toe  soon  for  much  usefulness,  and  yet 
having  a  wonderful  usefulness  in  beginning  the  endowment 
of  the  college  that  bears  his  name  ;  at  Dartmouth,  Wheelock's 
Indian  school,  and,  later,  the  scene  where  Daniel  Webster 
defended  the  college  charter  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States ;  at  Williams,  the  heroic  soldier  of  the  old  French 
war,  whose  name  the  college  bears,  and,  sixty  years  after, 
the  group  of  students  at  the  haystack,  consecrating  them- 
selves as  the  beginners  of  the  foreign  missionary  work  of  the 
American  churches  ;  at  Oberlin,  the  wild  beast,  a  symbol  of 
barbarism,  descending  from  a  tree  upon  the  selected  site, 
and  fleeing  westward  when  the  founders  appeared.  By  such 
beginnings  the  work  of  the  college  is  at  once  prophesied  and 
helped  to  take  a  distinctive  and  noble  shape. 

At  Beloit  the  student  of  the  beginnings  finds  much 
upon  which  he  loves  to  dwell  and  in  which  he  sees  the 
promise  and  the  definition  and  the  moulding  of  the  things 
to  come. 

THE   ORDINANCE   OF   1787. 

There  was,  far  back  and  first  of  all,  the  "  Ordinance  of 
1787,"  dedicating  the  great  Interior  to  freedom.  In  that 
law  and  compact,  which  has  come  to  be  awarded  a  foremost 
place  among  the  great  state-papers  of  the  world,  the  most 
famous  sentence,  after  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  was  this: 
"  Religion,  morality,  and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  good 
government  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the 
means  of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged."  Of  the 
tract  covered  by  the  original  ordinance,  Wisconsin  was  the 
farthest  away  and  the  last  to  be  occupied  by  civilized  men. 
Manasseh  Cutler  and  the  "  Ohio  company,"  in  demanding 
the  passage  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  as  the  condition  of  their 

133 


134  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

purchase  of  so  many  million  acres  in  the  Northwest,  per- 
formed the  first  great  act  in  deciding  what  the  future  Beloit 
should  be.  The  statesmanship  and  greatness  of  Dr.  Cutler 
are  coming  into  recognition  at  last.  His  statue  should  some 
day  adorn  the  college  grounds. 

THE   BLACKllAWK   WAR. 

Turn  the  glass,  and  j'ou  bring  up  another  scene.  It  is 
the  summer  of  1832.  The  Sacs  and  the  Foxes,  under  Black- 
hawk,  are  at  "  war "  with  the  United  States.  They  are  in 
full  retreat  from  central  Illinois  up  the  valley  of  the  Rock. 
Abraham  Lincoln,  a  young  Springfield  lawyer,  is  captain  of 
a  militia  company  that  shares  in  the  pursuit.  The  Indians 
pass  through  what  is  now  Beloit,  going  to  Fort  Atkinson  and 
beyond,  and  finally  westward,  till  Blackhawk  is  taken  and 
the  war  is  closed.  So  the  valley  is  cleared  of  Indians,  and 
the  white  settler  comes  in.  He  has  hardly  arrived  before 
he  begins  to  think  and  talk  of  a  college. 

THE    CHESAPEAKE. 

Turn  the  glass  again.  It  is  the  summer  of  1844.  The 
steamer  Chesapeake  is  plowing  westward  through  Lake 
Erie.  There  has  been  at  Cleveland  a  great  gathering  of 
Christian  people  from  the  region  covered  by  the  Ordinance 
of  1787  and  its  extensions ;  they  came  together  to  consider 
the  general  interests  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  ;  their  session  is  over,  and  many  of  them  are 
journeying  homeward  together  on  this  boat.  Dr.  Chapin's 
own  account  of  it  is  this :  "  You  may  see  seven  of  us 
crowded  together  in  that  narrow  room ;  Stephen  Peet,  to 
whom  belongs  the  honor  of  being  foremost  and  chief  of  the 
founders  of  Beloit  College,  is  lying  on  the  berth,  ill  in  body, 
but  his  fertile  mind,  as  active  as  ever,  is  planning  for  the 
spiritual  interests  of  this  region.  By  his  side  sits  Theron 
Baldwin,  then  just  entering  on  his  life-work.  Miter,  Gaston, 
Hicks,  Bulkley,  and  myself  are  standing  by,  listening  to 
their  talk.  The  Western  College  Society  was  fairly  organized, 
and  Baldwin,  its  secretary  and  soul,  unfolds  its  purpose  and 
plans.  There  is  light  and  hope  in  what  he  says.  A  hand 
from  the  East  will  be  stretched  out  to  help  on  the  establish- 
ment of  genuine  Christian  colleges,  judiciously  located  here 
and  there  in  the  West.  Peet  seizes  on  the  gleam  of  en- 
couragement; his  uttered  thoughts  kindle  enthusiasm  and 
hope  in  the  rest.     There  is  an  earnest  consultation — there  is 


BELOIT  COLLEGE.  135 

a  fervent  prayer — there  is  a  settled  purpose,  and  Beloit  College 

is  a  living  conception The  steamer  Chesapeake 

has  long  since  gone  to  pieces,  but  of  that  conference  on  her 
deck  came  the  iraming  ot  this  good  ship  whose  ribs  and  hull 
are  wrought  of  eternal  truths  that  know  no  decay."  The 
Chesapeake  might  well  have  been  cut  on  the  college  seal. 

THE    FOUR    CONVENTIONS. 

As  we  have  said,  there  had  been  already  much  thinking 
and  talking  of  a  college.  It  was  discussed  in  1843,  in  Beloit, 
in  the  old  stone  church  on  Broad  street,  in  the  "General  Con- 
vention "  of  the  Congregational  and  Presbyterian  churches. 
But  from  that  crowded  cabin  on  the  steamer  sprang  a  definite 
purpose  and  definite  plans.  A  conference  w^as  called,  to  meet 
on  the  6th  of  August,  1844.  Enthusiasm  had  been  sufficient 
so  far ;  now  they  were  face-to-face  with  work.  Small  as  Beloit 
then  was,  with  less  than  a  thousand  inhabitants,  it  was  a 
large  part  of  Wisconsin,  for  the  census  of  1840  had  shown 
that  there  were  in  the  territory  little  more  than  thirty  thous- 
and souls.  Money  was  scarce ;  transportation  was  by  horse, 
or  ox,  or  on  foot,  over  roads  that  were  often  desperately 
bad.  It  took  devotion  to  come  even  a  little  distance  to  talk 
of  a  college.  Yet  all  the  four  conventions  were  notably 
large. 

In  the  first  conference  there  were  four  from  Iowa,  twenty- 
seven  from  Illinois,  twenty-five  from  Wisconsin  ;  fifty-six  in 
all.  Aratus  Kent,  afterward  known  as  the  "  father  of  Rock- 
ford  Seminary,"  was  called  to  preside.  They  spent  two  days 
in  earnest  talk.  They  planned  for  a  college  for  Iowa — after- 
ward established,  as  Iowa  College,  at  Davenport,  and  later 
moved  to  Grinnell — and  a  college  and  a  female  seminary  for 
this  border-region  connecting  the  state  of  the  prairies  and 
the  state  of  the  lakes.  Only  so  much  did  they  dare  to  do. 
They  therefore  published  their  results,  and  called  another 
convention  for  October,  to  review  their  action  and  advance 
upon  it  if  that  should  seem  to  be  best.  So  cautious  did  they 
think  it  necessary  to  be. 

The  October  convention  was  composed  of  fifty  members, 
all  from  Wisconsin  and  Illinois.  Still  another  convention, 
of  sixty-eight  members,  was  held,  before  they  dared  to  take 
any  irrevocable  steps ;  that  came  in  May,  1845,  and  decided 
on  Beloit  as  the  site.  In  October,  1845,  a  fourth  convention 
adopted  a  form  of  charter  and  elected  a  board  of  trustees.  So 
Beloit  College  became  a  name  and  a  splendid  hope. 


136  BELOIT  COLLEGE. 

THE   OLD   STONE   CHURCH. 

These  four  conventions  and  the  first  meeting  of  the 
trustees  were  held  in  "  the  old  stone  church."  That  church 
is  too  closely  connected  with  the  beginnings  of  Beloit  college 
to  be  left  with  only  casual  mention.  It  had  the  curious  for- 
tune of  being  mentioned  in  two  editions  of  the  American 
Cyclopedia.  It  stood  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Broad  and 
Prospect  streets,  where  the  house  of  C.  C.  Keeler  now  stands ; 
it  faced  south,  and  had  four  tall  brick  pillars  in  front;  the 
basement  was  entered  by  a  door  on  the  east.  Had  that 
church  not  existed,  and  had  it  not  been  the  best  in  the  region 
outside  of  Milwaukee,  the  college  might  have  gone  elsewhere 
for  a  home. 

The  first  settlers  had  very  little  money,  and  it  took  a 
bushel  of  wheat  to  get  a  letter  out  of  the  post-office  or  a  yard  of 
calico  from  the  store ;  pork  was  only  two  or  three  cents  a 
pound.  Yet  those  beginners  were  willing  to  work.  They 
got  stone  and  lime  from  their  quarries  ;  they  sawed  the  native 
trees  into  lumber ;  brick  was  made  in  the  neighborhood. 
Only  ttie  shingles  must  be  got  from  abroad,  and  for  those 
one  of  them  went  without  money  to  Kenosha,  driving  an  ox- 
wagon,  sleeping  under  it,  and  asking  in  Kenosha  for  a  Chris- 
tian lumberman  who  would  let  them  have  the  shingles  on 
credit  and  wait  till  spring  for  his  pay.  The  trip  took  a  week,. 
but  the  shingles  were  got ;  the  church  was  used  through  the 
winter,  and  the  promise  to  pay  was  kept. 

In  the  basement  of  that  church  the  Beloit  Seminary 
found  a  home;  as  we  seek  to  estimate  the  influences  that 
brought  the  college  to  Beloit,  we  must  give  a  leading  place 
to  the  impression  made  by  an  edifice  then  thought  so  fine, 
by  the  seminary  then  flourishing  under  the  shelter  of  those 
immortal  shingles,  and,  back  of  both,  by  the  temper  of  a 
community  that,  while  still  poorly  housed,  gave  such  proof 
of  devotion  to  the  church  and  the  school. 

THE  START. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  trustees  was  held  October  23d, 
1845,  eight  of  the  fifteen  being  present.  That  they  felt 
their  responsibility  is  shown  by  the  silence  with  which  they 
looked  at  each  other,  until  one  said  :  "  Well,  brethren,  what 
are  we  to  do?  "  and  Father  Kent  answered  :  "  Let  us  pray." 
Of  those  eight  and  fifteen  A.  L.  Chapin  and  Wait  Talcott 
lingered  longest  with  us,  the  latter  passing  away  in  Novem- 
ber, 1890,  and  the  former  in  July,  1892. 


138  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

The  year  1846  passed  in  consultation  and  preparation, 
including  the  effort  to  find  outside  friends.  It  had  been 
felt  all  along  that  Beloit  was  the  place ;  Beloit  had  offered 
ten  acres,  being  the  central  half  of  the  present  site,  and  a 
building  to  cost  not  less  than  three  thousand  dollars.  As 
Father  Kent  said,  Beloit  was  "  eighty  miles  from  every- 
where," that  is,  from  the  lake-shore,  with  the  chain  of  cities 
expected  to  grow  up  there;  from  the  lead-region,  then  sup- 
posed to  be  of  inexhaustible  wealth  and  likely  to  build  up 
another  group  of  cities;  and  from  the  Mississippi,  then  a 
great  avenue  of  commerce,  the  development  and  superiority 
of  the  railroad  not  being  then  foreseen.  The  wealth  to  be 
drawn  from  the  fertility  of  the  Rock  river  valley  was  as  little 
realized  then. 

A  charter  was  granted  by  the  territorial  legislature ;  it 
was  approved  by  the  governor  February  2d,  1846.  The 
"  College  Society  "  took  up  the  new  institution  and  gave  it  a 
powerful  moral  support,  as  well  as  sums  of  money  amount- 
ing to  eight  thousand  dollars  in  the  first  ten  years.  Some 
little  formality  attended  the  laying  of  the  first  stone  by  the 
citizens  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Middle  College  in  the 
autumn  of  1846. 

SOMETHING   VISIBLE. 

The  corner-stone  of  Middle  College  was  laid  June  24th, 
1847.     Let  us  try  to  imagine  the  scene. 

There  was  a  village,  then  of  about  seventeen  hundred 
people,  very  few  of  them  living  on  the  west  side  or  on  the 
college  bluff.  No  railroad  had  yet  arrived.  The  campus  of 
ten  acres  stretched  from  College  street  to  the  river.  Prospect 
street  stretched  actoss  the  campus  and  through  to  (Jlary, 
then  Fourth,  street.  Chapin,  then  Second,  street  stretched 
to  where  Middle  College  now  stands,  there  crossing  Prospect 
street,  and  turning  to  wind  down  the  ravine  and  connect 
with  what  was  then  the  head  of  Pleasant  street.  All  these 
streets  were  hardly  more  than  map-names,  for  people  drove 
almost  at  will  wherever  the  undergrowth  had  been  broken 
down. 

L.  G.  Fisher,  A.  L.  Field,  and  James  Lusk,  having  owned 
the  bluff-line  for  some  distance  north  and  south  of  where  the 
Gymnasium  now  stands,  and  liaving  expected  to  build  homes 
in  that  choice  location,  had  given  up  their  claims.  Horace 
Hobart  had  owned  the  site  of  the  present  Art-Hall  (the  old 
chapel) ;  Hazen  Cheney  had  owned  four  lots  opposite  Professor 


M^. 


BELOIT   COLLEGE.  139 

Blaisdell's  present  home.  There  had  been  some  eight  own- 
ers in  all.  All  the  streets  had  been  vacated,  so  far  as  they 
lay  upon  the  site  proposed  ;  all  the  land  had  been  given  or 
sold  to  the  trustees  to  secure  the  location  of  the  college  in 
Beloit.  The  principal  deed  to  this  land  is  dated  September 
12th,  1846;  two  lots  were  conveyed  November  21st,  1849. 
The  north  and  south  ends  of  the  present  campus,  and  the 
Keep  place,  are  much  later  additions,  having  been  bought 
in  large  or  small  pieces  from  time  to  time.*  The  campus  is 
now  about  twenty-two  acres  along  the  edge  of  the  bluff,  and 
includes  twenty  specimens,  in  three  patterns,  of  the  mound- 
builders'  work. 

There  was  then  no  newspaper  in  the  village,  nor  even  a 
press.  The  Rock  River  House,  now  a  combination  of  tene- 
ment, storehouse,  and  shop,  was  then  a  pleasant  hotel,  where 
the  Goodwin  House  now  stands.  The  present  generation  of 
elderly  men  were  then  young  men  or  boys;  many  of  them 
and  of  the  girls  were  pupils  in  the  "  Beloit  Seminary,"  meet- 
ing, as  we  have  said,  in  the  basement  of  the  old  stone  church. 

Seven  thousand  dollars  had  been  subscribed  for  the 
erection  of  the  promised  building,  and  the  foundations  had 
been  laid. 

The  day  for  laying  the  corner-stone  was  auspicious  in 
every  respect.  The  whole  neighborhood  flocked  in  to  see, 
as  afterward  it  made  a  practice  of  doing  as  long  as  Com- 
mencement was  held  outdoors.  A  procession  was  formed 
and  marched  to  the  southeast  corner  of  the  foundations, 
where  now,  on  the  corner-stone,  the  date  may  be  read.  Two 
thousand  people  are  said  to  have  been  present ;  indeed,  it  is 
a  common  experience  for  the  friends  of  the  college  to  hear  in 
distant  places  the  boast :     "  I  saw  the  corner-stone  laid." 

John  M.  Keep  presided.  There  was  prayer  and  song. 
Rev.  A.  L.  Chapin,  then  only  a  trustee,  read  a  sketch  of  the 
slender  history  thus  far  made  out ;  Rev.  Stephen  Peet  gave 
an  account  of  the  still  more  slender  resources.  Professor 
Stowe  was  to  have  made  an  elaborate  address,  but  was  pre- 
vented by  illness ;  his  place  was  taken  by  several  others,  who 
spoke,  with  a  fire  that  is  still  remembered,  as  to  the  need  of  a 
college  and  the  good  that  it  could  do.  A  lead  box,  filled  with 
articles  of  current  interest  and  sealed,  was  put  in  place,  and 

*See  an  article  entitled  "How  the  Campus  was  Got,"  in  the 
Round  Table  for  November  5th,  1880.  In  this  the  name  Farrar  should 
now  be  changed  to  Vale,  and  Second  street  to  Chapin  street.  The  Keep 
place  has  since  been  bought ;  the  date  of  the  deed  is  March  22d,  1883. 


140  BELOIT    COLLEGE. 

then,  upon  it  Father  Kent,  tlie  president  of  the  board,  set 
the  corner-stone.  The  honest  old  building  stands  there  yet, 
somewhat  modernized  and  beautified,  but  substantially  the 
same,  having  never  yet  shown  so  much  as  a  crack  in  its 
walls.     May  the  omen  prove  abundantly  true. 

THE    FIRST    TEACHERS    AND   LEARNERS. 

November  4th  of  that  year,  "five  young  gentlemen,"  as 
an  old  history  politely  calls  them,  became  the  first  freshman 
class ;  S.  T.  Merrill,  the  principal  of  the  Beloit  Seminary,  had 
charge  of  them  through  most  of  that  year.  They  were 
taught  at  first  in  the  same  old  basement ;  afterward  in  the 
house  on  Pleasant  street,  now  called  the  King  place ;  and 
finally,  with  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  Seminary,  in  Middle 
College.  The  names  of  four  of  that  first  class  may  be  found 
at  the  head  of  the  roll  of  the  alumni;  the  fifth  was  Strong 
Wadsworth ;  it  was  counted  a  sign  of  the  future  that  Mr. 
Wadsworth,  after  taking  most  of  his  course  at  Beloit,  was  ad- 
mitted at  Yale  to  the  class  corresponding  to  the  one  that  he 
had  left.  There  never  failed  to  be  a  graduation  after  1850, 
although  in  1852  there  was  only  the  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
church  to  take  a  degree. 

April  27th,  1848,  J.  J.  Bushnell  arrived,  descending  from 
Frink  and  Walker's  stage  at  the  door  of  the  Rock  River  House, 
and  hastening  to  find  Rev.  Dexter  Clary,  the  secretary  of  the 
trustees.  Joseph  Emerson  arrived  on  the  24th  of  May. 
These  two  young  men,  college  classmates  and  somewhat  ex- 
perienced as  college  tutors  elsewhere,  had  been  called  and 
were  now  elected  to  divide  the  work  of  instruction,  Mr.  Bush- 
nell taking  mathematics  and  Mr.  Emerson  the  ancient  lan- 
guages. As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  divided  the  work  on  an- 
other line,  Mr.  Bushnell  taking  the  business,  and  Mr.  Emer- 
son the  teaching. 

STRUGGLE. 

Nor  was  Mr.  Bushnell's  the  less  important  task.  The 
walls  of  Middle  College  had  gone  up  as  high  as  four  thousand 
dollars  would  pay  for,  and  then  had  stopped,  floorless,  roof- 
less, windowless,  bleak.  The  subscription  had  been  reduced, 
as  subscriptions  generally  are,  and  things  looked  dark.  It 
was  the  low  tide  that  always  tends  to  follow  the  flood  of  en- 
thusiasm with  which  a  great  work  of  devotion  is  begun. 
Only  the  teaching  went  on. 

The  student  of  our  beginnings  must  read  for  himself 
the  history  of  the  financial  campaign  that  ensued.    Profes- 


142  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

sor  Bushnell  wrote  it  out  for  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  ;  it 
was  printed  in  the  quarter-century  pamphlet,  and  it  cannot 
well  be  abridged. 

No  more  help  could  be  got  from  abroad  till  Middle  Col- 
lege was  finished  by  tlie  people  of  Beloit.  That  promise 
must  be  redeemed.  An  active  canvass  to  "  talk  college  " 
was  begun.  The  prejudice  against  an  "  abolition  college  " 
began  to  soften ;  faith,  at  that  time  drooping  or  almost 
dead,  began  to  revive.  Soon  it  was  deemed  best  to  call  a 
public  meeting,  though  few  thought  that  it  could  succeed. 
The  meeting  rose  to  the  best  hopes  of  its  promoters,  and  the 
needed  amount  Avas  raised.  Says  Professor  Bushnell :  "  It 
has  always  seemed  to  me  that,  if  there  has  ever  been  a  crisis 
in  the  history  of  this  college,  it  was  at  the  time  when  Beloit 
raised  her  second  subscription  of  four  thousand  dollars  ;  and 
the  success  with  which  that  effort  was  carried  through  in- 
spired courage  and  hope  through  all  the  time  thereafter." 
Thus  the  citizens  of  Beloit  gave  at  the  start  a  site  valued  at 
three  thousand  dollars,  and  twelve  thousand  dollars  in 
money  or  labor.  From  time  to  time  since,  they  have  aided 
nobly  in  efforts  to  erect  other  buildings  or  to  broaden  the 
work.  Middle  College  was  occupied  in  the  autumn  of  1848, 
and  for  six  years  was  the  only  college  building,  all  public  ex- 
ercises, except  Commencement,  being  held  in  the  south  half 
of  the  ground-floor.  Many  a  man  dates  from  that  room  his 
newness  of  both  intellectual  and  spiritual  life. 

GROWTH. 

In  the  fall  of  1848,  a  preparatory  school  was  opened, 
but  in  the  expectation  that  high-schools  and  academies 
would  soon  be  multiplied  and  built  up  throughout  the 
region ;  it  was  then  little  thought  that  the  preparatory  school 
would  last  till  now,  be  enlarged  into  an  academy,  and  be 
to-day  the  principal  feeder  of  the  college  course.  Yet  so  the 
people  of  tliis  region  have  willed.  Circumstances  have  de- 
volved upon  Beloit  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  showing 
what  a  Christian  academy  can  be.  The  Academy  is  now  in 
itself  one  of  the  great  schools  of  the  West. 

Until  the  state  of  Wisconsin  had  a  normal  school  of  its 
own,  it  contributed  to  the  support  of  a  normal  depart- 
ment at  Beloit.  The  word  "  normal "  disappears  from 
the  catalogue  with  the  cessation  of  the  payments  by  the 
state. 

The  time  from  1848  to  1850  was  the  first  great  harvest  of 


Rev.  J    J.  Blaisdel. 


BELOIT   COLLEGE.  143 

funds,  most  noticeable  being  the  gift,  by  Mrs.  Hale,  of  land 
that  was  sold  for  thirty-five  thousand  dollars. 

Rev.  A.  L.  Chapin,  then  the  pastor  of  a  Presbyterian 
church  in  Milwaukee,  was  elected  president  November  20th, 
1849,  began  work  February  1st,  1850,  and  was  inaugurated 
in  the  grove  July  24th  of  that  year.  For  many  years  before 
his  death  he  had  been  the  one  living  man  who  had  seen  and 
helped  the  whole  life  of  tbe  college  from  its  inception  on  the 
Chesapeake,  But  now  he  also  has  passed  away  ;  except  tor. 
Professor  Emerson,  whose  work  goes  back  almost  to  the  be- 
ginning, and  Mr.  Merrill,  who  is  still  an  honorary  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  the  college  is  now  wholly  in  the 
hands  of  men  of  a  later  day. 

For  the  first  three  years  there  were,  of  course,  no  gradu- 
ates; in  1850  the  juniors  made  a  substitute  for  Commence- 
ment by  holding  rhetorical  exercises  out  in  the  grove. 
Those  out-door  gatherings  must  have  had  a  peculiar  charm. 
The  place  was  the  natural  amphitheater  just  north  of  the 
present  chapel.  Near  the  boundary -line,  and  facing  north, 
two  stages  were  erected,  one  like  that  now  used  in  the 
church,  the  other  for  the  band.  A  canopy,  tied  from  tree  to 
tree,  kept  off  the  sun,  but,  unhappily,  not  the  dust.  The 
whole  country  came  in  and  picnicked  under  the  trees.  It 
was  really,  but  not  wholly,  a  gain  when  the  exercises  were 
moved,  m  1862,  to  the  newly  completed  First  Congregational 
church.  The  country  lost  interest  and  came  in  no  more. 
The  exercises  in  the  grove  were  never  rained  upon  ;  the  first 
Commencement  in  the  church  was  wet,  and  there  have  been 
many  wet  ones  since. 

The  history  of  the  college  buildings  is  concisely  this  : 

Middle  College,  of  red  brick,  was  erected  in  1847-48,  at  a 
cost  of  about  $10,000.  It  was  given  a  new  roof-story,  belfry, 
porch,  etc.,  in  1879,  at  a  cost  of  about  $4,000.  It  was,  until 
1893,  the  principal  building  for  instruction  in  the  college 
proper;  the  literary  societies  have  their  halls  and  reading- 
room  there.  North  College,  of  red  brick,  was  built  in  1854 
for  $8,000 ;  it  was  long  the  only  or  principal  dormitory,  and 
it  was,  ULtil  the  completion  of  Chapin  Hall,  the  place  of  the 
college  boarding-club.  The  old  chapel,  now  called  the  Art- 
Hall,  of  Milwaukee  brick,  was  built  in  1858  for  $6,000;  it 
was  a  chapel  up  stairs,  and  the  headquarters  of  the  rhetorical 
work ;  down  stairs  it  was  the  crowded  home  of  the  academy 
until  the  erection  of  Scoville  Hall,  and  then  a  temporary 
refuge  of  the  department  of  physics,  until  the  completion  of 


144  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

Pearsons  Hall;  it  is  now  to  be  devoted  to  the  work  in  art. 
South  College,  of  wood,  was  erected  in  1868  at  the  war-price 
of  $5,000;  it  met,  for  a  time,  the  great  need  of  more  dor- 
mitory-room ;  later  it  was  made  over  to  meet  the  still  more 
imperative  demands  of  the  departments  of  chemistry  and 
mineralogy,  and  thereafter  was  known  as  the  laboratory. 
Memorial  Hall,  of  limestone,  was  erected  in  1869  at  a  cost  of 
$26,000 ;  the  library  was  brought  to  the  upper  story  from 
Middle  College,  and  the  cabinets  to  the  lower  story ;  now  the 
cabinets  go  to  Pearsons  Hall,  and  the  library,  which  has 
been  pinched  for  room  of  late,  finds  its  quarters  doubled. 
The  Gymnasium,  of  wood,  was  the  product  of  a  movement 
among  the  students;  it  was  erected  in  1874  for  $4,000,  and 
has  done  good  service,  but  needs  to  be  replaced  soon  by 
something  greatly  better.  All  the  buildings  thus  far  named 
were  paid  for  by  general  subscription. 

The  Smith  Observatory,  a  small  but  fine  building  of 
stone,  dates  from  1881,  costing,  with  the  equipment,. 
$22,000.  Scoville  Hall,  the  gift  of  J.  W.  Scoville,  was  erected 
in  1889-90,  and  cost,  equipped,  $27,000;  it  was  the  first  of 
the  four  thoroughly  modern  and  notably  perfect  buildings 
erected  in  the  past  few  years  for  the  college.  Chapin  Hall, 
given  by  Dr.  D.  K.  Pearsons,  was  erected  in  1890-91,  costing, 
with  equipment,  $27,000;  it  has  rooms,  furnished,  for  sixty- 
eight  students,  and  on  tlie  groutid-floor  quarters  and  equip- 
ment for  a  boarding-club  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  The 
new  Chapel,  built  chiefly  by  Mrs.  A.  E.  H.  Doyou  in  memory  of 
her  mother,  Mrs.  Herrick — herself  the  builder  of  the  Smith 
Observatory — and  costing,  with  the  organ,  about  $34,000,^ 
was  going  up  at  the  same  time  with  Chapin  Hall.  Pear- 
sons Hall,  dedicated  in  January,  1893,  cost  $75,000,  besides 
the  equipment.  It  is  the  largest  and  most  elaborate  of  all 
the  buildings  of  the  college.  The  walls  are  of  a  dark- 
brown  brick,  rougli-faced.  The  departments  of  physics, 
geology,  botany,  and  chemistry  have  suites  of  rooms  in  the 
wings,  each  occupying  two  floors.  The  offices  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  trustees,  and  of  the  scientific  association,  with 
the  museum  above  tiiem,  make  the  front.  At  the  center  is 
an  auditorium,  seating  300  people.  It  was  a  great  <lay  for 
the  college  when  its  scientific  work  emerged  from  the 
cramped  quarters  in  Middle  College  and  entered  the  large, 
well-lighted,  and  well-equipped  rooms  in  Pearsons  Hall.  It 
will  be  seen  that  with  the  excavation  for  Scoville  Hall  the 
college  entered  upon  a  "buildnig-period,"  completely  chang- 


THE    NEW   CHAPEL. 


146  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

ing  the  aspect  of  the  campus,  and  crowning  it  with  four 
noble  and  beautiful  buildings. 

The  Battell  clock  and  the  chime  were  given  in  1881 ;  the 
chapel-bell  was  added  by  Mr.  Battell  in  1892. 

The  Athletic  Field,  a  meadow  of  over  sixteen  acres, 
half  a  mile  east  of  the  campus,  was  given  by  William  B, 
Keep  in  1891;  admirably  adapted  by  nature  to  its  uses,  it  is 
being  gradually  developed  into  one  of  the  best  fields  that 
our  colleges  can  boast. 

The  library,  from  its  humble  beginnings  in  Middle 
College  and  an  exceedingly  small  amount  of  use,  has  grown- 
to  18,000  volumes,  which  are  accessible  and  much  used  for  a 
large  part  of  every  working-day. 

Mrs.  Emerson's  gift  of  a  valuable  art-collection  opens 
the  hope  that  the  college  may  soon  enter  largely  into  the  im- 
portant field  of  art.  With  the  opening  of  1893  the  college 
began  to  give  instruction  m  this  department,  Professor  Law- 
ton  S.  G.  Parker  coming  from  Chicago  for  the  purpose.  To 
this  class  both  sexes  are  admitted.  The  friends  of  the  col- 
lege confidently  expect  that  by  the  benefactions  of  those  who 
appreciate  the  importance  of  art  this  small  beginning  will 
be  rapidly  developed  to  an  important  place  in  the  work  of 
Beloit.  The  beginning  of  an  endowment  for  art,  $10,000,  has 
recently  been  given  by  Mrs.  Ellen  B.  Eldndge,  of  Yarmouth- 
port,  Mass. 

Within  the  past  year  music  has  taken  a  distinctive 
place  in  the  college  work.  The  noble  organ,  the  gift  of  Mrs. 
Story,  began  to  be  used  with  the  present  chapel,  and  Mr. 
Sleeper,  with  1892,  entered  upon  his  service  as  choirmaster 
and  instructor  in  music. 

With  all  these  gains  have  come  additions  to  the  endow- 
ments, but  not  so  many  as  the  college  imperatively  needs. 
The  endowments  have  been  more  than  doubled  in  the  last 
four  years,  the  most  notable  gains  in  this  line  being  bv  Dr. 
Pearsons's  gift  of  $100,000  in  1889,  and  William  E.  Hale's 
gift  of  $50,000  for  the  endowment  of  the  scientific  instruction 
in  1892. 

OFFICERS. 

Of  the  professors  who  have  closed  their  work  we  may  make 
this  record  :  J.  J.  Bushnell,  1848-73 ;  S.  P.  Lathrop,  1849- 
54;  A.  L.  Chapin,  1850-92;  M.  P.  Squier,  1850-66;  F.  W. 
Fisk,  1854-59;  J.  P.  Plsk,  1856-71;  H.  B.  Nason,  1858-66; 
H.  L.  Kelsey,  1860-63;  E.  P.  Harris,  1866-68  ;  J.  H.  Eaton, 


BELOrr  COLLEGE.  147 

1868-77;  L.  S.  Rowland,  1868-71;  Peter  Hendrickson, 
1870-84;  I.  W.  Pettibone,  1871-81;  T.  C.  Chamberlin, 
1872-86;  W.  W.  Rowlands,  1881-84;  R.  D.  Salisbury,  1882- 
91.  It  would  require  a  volume  to  trace  the  work  of  these  men 
and  to  estimate  its  worth. 

Of  living  and  present  instructors,  Joseph  Emerson,  after 
forty  years  of  service,  went  to  Europe  for  several  years,  and  is 
now  taking  up  a  moderate  amount  of  work ;  William  Porter 
began  work  in  September,  1852,  and  has  therefore  com- 
pleted his  fortieth  year ;  J.  J.  Blaisdell  began  work  in  1859  ; 
Edward  D.  Eaton,  having  served  five  years  as  trustee,  became 
president  in  1886;  it  was  a  peculiar  gratification  to  the 
alumni  that  one  of  their  own  number  should  be  thought 
worthv  to  succeed  the  founder.  H.  M.  Whitnev  began  in 
1871,  T.  A.  Smith  in  1877,  E.  G.  Smith  in  1881,  A.  W.  Burr 
in  1884,  C.  A.  Bacon  in  1885.  Of  those  w4io  have  been  pro- 
fessors, six,  including  the  three  founders,  took  their  first 
degree  at  Yale,  six  at  Amherst,  nine  at  Beloit,  two  at  Middle- 
bury,  two  at  Dartmouth,  and  nine  others  at  nine  institutions 
scattered  from  Boston  to  western  Iowa. 

There  has  been  a  noble  body  of  men  in  service  as  trus- 
tees. Their  number  has  been  gradually  increased  from 
seventeen  to  thirty;  they  are  now  elected  for  three-year 
terras;  the  alumni,  with  the  Commencement  of  1893,  enter 
upon  the  privilege  of  nominating  three  members  of  the 
board.     None  of  the  original  board  survive. 

Rev.  Dexter  Clary  served  as  secretary  of  the  trustees  till 
his  death  in  1874,  and  was  then  succeeded  by  Rev.  H.  P. 
Higley,  C.  A,  Emerson  following  in  1891. 

In  other  but  not  less  truly  important  spheres,  and  in 
not  less  faithfulness  and  friendship  to  a  great  multitude  of 
students,  have  been  the  labors  of  Miss  Anah  T,  Dewey,  the 
matron  of  the  college  club  for  all  but  about  two  of  the 
twenty-five  years  between  1857  and  1882,  and  of  John  B. 
Pfefter,  the  man-of-all-work  for  the  last  twenty-seven  years 
and  over ;  their  names  open  the  springs  of  gratitude  in  many 
an  old  student's  heart. 

THE  WAR. 

The  part  taken  by  the  college  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
has  been  often  stated,  but  must  not  be  omitted  here.  More 
than  400,  out  of  perhaps  750  who  could  bear  arms,  were  in 
the  Union  army ;  the  names  ot  forty-six  who  died  in  the 
service  are  on  a  marble  tablet  in  Memorial  Hall.     One  Com- 


148  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

mencement  was  omitted  because  both  the  professor  of  rhetoric-- 
and  the  senior  class  were  in  camp  at  Memphis ;  the  daily 
prayer-meeting  began  soon  after  their  return. 

THE  CATALOGUES. 

The  first  catalogue  is  dated  "  1849-50,"  and  is  of  great 
interest  to  those  who  care  for  the  way  in  which  good  things 
have  come  to  be.  The  names  of  the  trustees  are  largely 
strange  to  those  not  familiar  with  the  past.  Tiie  faculty  of 
the  college  consists  of  five  ;  the  instructors  in  the  seminary 
are  given ;  they  are  three  of  the  five,  and  Miss  Adalinfr 
Merrill  and  Miss  Cornelia  Bradley,  "instructors  in  ladies'  de- 
partment." There  are  no  seniors,  four  juniors,  no  sophomores,, 
four  freshmen,  nine  sub-freshmen.  The  future  prominence- 
of  Beloit  in  editorship  is  suggested  by  the  fact  that  this  roll 
of  seventeen  contains  the  names  of  S.  D.  Peet,  J.  M.  Bundy,. 
Horace  White,  and  Harlan  Page.  The  rest  of  the  preparatory 
school  number  forty-one.  The  Beloit  Seminary  is  credited 
with  eighty-five  "gentlemen"  and  fifty-nine  "ladies."  The- 
requirements  for  admission  and  the  course  of  study,  though 
not  so  high  as  now,  are  high  and  worthy  of  great  respect. 
The  library  is  said  to  contain  over  a  thousand  volumes.  The 
pages  in  this  catalogue  are  sixteen. 

In  the  catalogue  of  1850  the  girls  have  disappeared,  to- 
return  no  more  until  the  catalogue  of  next  autumn,  when 
some  will  appear  as  students  of  art.  There  is  a  normal  and 
English  department  of  sixty-four  students.  The  total  i» 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  The  pages  are  fifteen ;  in 
the  catalogue  of  1892  the  pages  are  seventy-two,  besides  four 
cuts. 

In  the  catalogue  of  1853  the  students  are  one  hundred 
and  seven,  the  smallest  number  recorded.  The  attendance- 
increased  yearly  from  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  in  1885- 
to  three  hundred  and  seventy-four  in  1891.  The  alumni 
are  now  four  hundred  and  forty-three,  with  twent3'-four  in 
the  present  senior  class.  The  students  taught  in  the  forty- 
six  years  are  about  thirty-five  hundred.  Tlieir  sons  began 
coming  to  the  college  about  1876. 

Up  to  1874  the  course  was  wholly  classical;  the  class 
of  1878  was  the  first  to  have  a  "  classical "  and  a  "  philo- 
sophical "  wing.  The  catalogue  of  1886  shows  a  liberal 
range  of  elective  studies ;  before  that  the  college  had  felt 
able  to  offer  very  little  opportunity  of  choice  outside  the 
two  main  courses.     The  first  graduate  student  was  received 


Profissor  E.  D.  Eaton. 


BELiOIT    COLLEGE.  149 

In  1889.     In  1892  the  college  defined  what  it  could  offer  in 
advantages  for  graduate  work. 

PRESENT   INSTRUCTORS. 

Tlie  faculty,  as  it  is  now  constituted,  is  as  follows:  Ed- 
ward D.  Eaton,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  President,  and  Professor  of 
History;  Joseph  Emerson,  D.  D.,  Williams  Professor  of 
Oreek,  and  Librarian ;  William  Porter,  D.  D.,  Brinsmade 
Professor  of  Latin,  and  Secretary;  James  J.  Blaisdell,  D.  D., 
Squier  Professor  of  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy,  and  In- 
structor in  Hebrew;  Rev.  Henry  M.  Whitney,  M.  A.,  Root 
Professor  of  Rhetoric  and  English  Literature;  Thomas  A. 
Smith,  Pli.  D.,  Hale  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Physics; 
Erastus  G.  Smith,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Miner- 
alogy ;  Rev.  Almon  W.  Burr,  M.  A.,  Principal  of  the  Academy, 
and  Professor  of  Pedagogics ;  Charles  A.  Bacon,  M.  A.,  Ed- 
ward Ely  Professor  of  Astronomy,  and  Director  of  the  Ob- 
servatory ;  Calvin  W.  Pearson,  Ph.  D.,  Harwood  Professor  of 
Modern  Languages ;  Theodore  L.  Wright,  M.  A.,  Professor  of 
Greek  Literature  and  Art ;  Hiram  D.  Densmore,  M.  A.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Botany,  and  Curator  of  the  Museum  ;  George  E.  Hale, 
B.  S.,  Professor  of  Astronomical  Physics ;  Rev.  Louis  E.  Hol- 
den,  M.  A.,  Knapp  Professor  of  Oratory;  Rev.  Henry  D. 
Sleeper,  Choirmaster  and  Instructor  in  Music;  Robert  C. 
Chapin,  M.  A.,  B.  D.,  Professor  of  Political  Economy  ;  George 
L.  Collie,  M.  A.,  Professor  of  Geology,  on  the  Alumni  founda- 
tion ;  George  P.  Bacon,  M.  A.,  Assistant  Principal  of  the 
Academy;  Lawton  S.  G.  Parker,  Instructor  in  Art;  Henry 
A.  Gushing,  B.  A.,  Elliot  R.  Downing,  B.  S.,  William  K. 
Hay,  Ernest  L.  Benson,  B.  A.,  Albert  W.  Whitney,  B.  A., 
Instructors  in  the  Academy. 

GENERAL   RETROSPECT. 

As  the  history  of  any  human  institution  works  down 
from  its  beginnings  and  draws  nearer  to  the  time  of  the 
observer,  it  seems  to  have  less  of  both  the  heroic  and  the 
picturesque.  Yet  both  those  elements  may  be  there,  and  the 
one  be  often  the  other.  This  generation  can  hardly  appre- 
ciate the  sacrifices  that  the  measure  of  success  thus  far 
attained  by  Beloit  College  has  cost.  But  sacrifices  are  still 
being  made  for  Beloit,  and  there  is  need  for  much  sacrifice  yet. 
Scattered  all  along  the  history  are  things,  little  and  great,  on 
which  the  eye  delights  to  rest.  Who  remembers  that  "  young 
ladies'  literary  society,"  organized  in  1838,   and  helping  to 


150  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

found  the  college  library  with  a  few  historical  works,  and 
again  to  buy  the  first  college  bell  and  provide  cases  for  the 
first  collections  for  the  cabinet?  Who  knows  of  that  benevo- 
lent sewing-society  that,  in  September,  1849,  decoyed  Pro- 
fessor Bushnell  away  from  his  bachelor  den  in  Middle  Col- 
lege, that  they  might  lay  a  carpet,  hang  curtains,  and  uphol- 
ster a  lounge,  afterward  putting  an  occasional  study-gown, 
coat,  or  shirt  upon  each  of  the  two  professors  who  were  too 
busy  to  marry  ?  It  was  in  preparation  for  a  second  raid  of 
this  kind  upon  Professor  Bushnell  that  two  of  the  good  ladies 
drove  to  Milwaukee  in  an  open  conveyance  in  cold  weather. 
Who  would  not  like  to  see  one  of  the  old  Commencements 
under  the  trees?  Who  does  not  see  something  picturesque 
in  the  story  of  the  "Coronation  of  Alma  Mater"  by  the  class 
of  1862  ?  Who  started  the  ingenious  device  by  which  JUNIOR 
X  blazes  through  the  windows  of  the  church  in  December  of 
each  year?  Tradition  gives  the  credit  of  it  to  the  class  of 
1870,  Whose  faith  and  foresight  gave  the  name  "  College 
street "  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  campus  before  ever 
the  Chesapeake  made  that  historic  trip?  There  is  uplift  in 
the  very  thought  of  that  act,  as  though  it  were  a  part  of  a 
great  revelation  that  the  college  must  come  to  this  place.  Was 
it  not  a  beautiful  sight,  that  torch-bearing  escort,  when  Presi- 
dent Eaton  was  inducted  into  office?  Who  can  forget  the 
scene  in  the  old  chapel  when  the  students  made  their  great 
voluntary  subscription  that  Doctor  Pearsons's  first  offer  migiit 
be  met?  And  who  shall  paint  for  us  the  genial  Doctor,  crack- 
ing his  whip  over  his  hundred  student-horses,  as  he  took  in  a 
borrowed  buggy  that  famous  extemporized  free  ride  to  which 
he  was  fairly  compelled  after  he  gave  his  promise  to  build  a 
science-hall  ? 

Such  things  are  impressive  and  elevating ;  they  rouse 
us  to  realize  the  mission  and  the  worth  of  the  college. 


And  again  we  say,  happy  is  that  college  which  has  asso- 
ciations of  an  ennobling  sort  connected  with  its  very  site. 
About  us  is  an  unusual  wealth  of  the  handiwork  of  God  in 
the  kingdom  of  the  flowers.  Here  are  three  great  geologi- 
cal formations,  full  of  extinct  creatures  of  the  primal 
world,  to  incite  us  to  reverent  study.  Far  north  and  south 
extends  our  beautiful  valley,  teeming  with  fertility,  the  certain 
future  abode  of  millions  that  will  need  and  use  and  support 
the  college.     Far  northward  stretches  that  noble  view  which 


BELOIT   COLLEGE.  151 

has  thrilled  many  a  heart  with  delight.  Here  is  our  beauti. 
ful  river,  the  Rock,  dividing  the  landscape  like  a  silver  baud- 
About  us  are  the  three  great  types  of  prairie,  spreading  or 
rolling  till  they  break  into  the  billowy  hills.  Here  is  an  an- 
tiquity dating  far  back  of  history,  far  back  of  the  colonial 
times  in  which  were  the  beginnings  of  the  colleges  of  the 
Atlantic  coast ;  for  here,  dotted  upon  our  very  campus,  are 
many  memorials  of  a  mighty  but  mysterious  race :  as  among 
the  trees  and  the  mounds  is  poured,  as  seemingly  nowhere 
else,  the  liquid  gold  of  the  sunset  or  the  silver  sheen  of  the 
moonlight,  the  spirits  of  their  chiefs  seem  to  come  forth  from 
these,  their  places  of  interment,  and  to  bid  us  use  well  the 
inheritance  that  is  ours. 

February,  1893.  H.  M.  Whitney. 

references: 

"  Dr.  Cutler  and  the  Ordinance  of  1787;"  an  article  by  Dr.  W.  F. 
Poole  in  the  North  American  Eeview,  April,  1876. 

First  Annual  Eeport  of  the  Trustees  of  Beloit  College,  January  ,1849. 

Inaugural  Address  of  President  Chapin,  1850. 

Inaugural  Address  of  Professor  Squier,  July,  1851. 

The  Chicago  Maffiizine,  March,  1857. 

Proceedings  of  the  Tenth  Anniversary,  July  8,  1857. 

Memorial  of  Kev.  Stephen  Peet,  July,  1870. 

"Beloit  College — Its  Origin  and  Aims;"  an  article  by  President 
Chapin  in  the  New  Englander,  April,  1872. 

Proceedings  of  the  Twenty-nfth  Anniversary,  July,  1872. 

"  Historical  Sketch  of  Beloit  College  ;"  a  pamphlet  prepared  by 
request  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for  the  Cen- 
tennial of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  1876. 

The  Beloit  College  Monthlv,  and  the  Round  Table,  1853-92. 

The  Beloit  College  Register,  1862-70. 

The  Universitv  Quarterly,  1860-61. 

Catalogues,  1849-92. 

The  Beloit  Journal,  Free  Press,  and  other  local  newspapers'. 

Proceedings  at  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  First  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Beloit,  December  28-30,  1888. 

The  Beloit  College  Codex,  1889  and  1891. 

AAKON   LUCIUS   CHAPIN,   D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

The  life  of  Doctor  Chapin  in  Wisconsin  covered  nearly 
forty-nine  years,  and  it  was,  almost  from  its  beginning,  con- 
nected vitally  and  powerfully  with  our  educational  work. 

Born  February  6th,  1817,  in  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
educated  at  Yale  College  and  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
teaching  one  year  in  Baltimore  and  five  in  the  New  York  In- 
stitution for  the  Deaf,  he  came  in  1843  to  a  pastorate  in  Mil- 
waukee with  large  mental  and  spiritual  equipment  for  the 
great  part  that  he  afterward  took  in  Wisconsin  affairs.  That 
the   trend  of  his  mind  was  toward  education  is  shown  by 


152  BELOIT   COLLEGE. 

the  fact  that  in  the  summer  of  1844  he  was  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  at  a  large  conference,  gathered  from  all  over  the  North- 
west, studying  the  religious  and  educational  needs  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  and  that  he  was  in  the  little  group  of 
people  who,  returning  westward  from  that  conference  on  the 
historic  steamer  Chesapeake,  first  struck  out  the  idea  of  a  col- 
lege at  Beloit.  He  never  lost  sight  of  that  idea  ;  it  rapidly 
became  his  central  purpose.  He  was  active,  with  increasing 
prominence,  in  the  series  of  conventions  that  led  to  the 
establishment  of  Beloit.  He  was  put  upon  its  first  board  of 
trustees   (1845).     In  1849  he  was  called  to  the  presidency, 


THE  OLD  STONE  CHURCH. 


laving  down  his  pastorate  in  December,  and  being  inaugu- 
rated July  24th,  1850.  The  history  of  Beloit  College,  told 
elsewhere  in  this  volume,  is  very  largely  his  biography, 
as  it  is  his  noblest  memorial.  He  resigned  the  presidency 
in  June,  1886,  but  retained  his  connection  with  the  college 
as  President  Emeritus  and  professor  of  Civil  Polity,  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  July  22d,  1892,  his  only  son  succeed- 
ing him  in  his  department  of  instruction.  Doctor  Chapin's 
presidency  of  over  thirty-six  years  is  one  of  the  longest  and 
most  notable  in  the  annals  of  American  colleges.  Through 
his  long  service  in  Wisconsin,  he  was  felt  as  a  power  in 
many  hues  of  activity  outside  of  Beloit  College  and  outside 


BELOIT   COLLEGE.  153 

of  the  state.  He  frequently  attended  the  meetings  of  the 
State  Teachers'  Association,  and  made  addresses  on  impor- 
tant themes.  He  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the 
Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences  (1870),  and  was  elected  a 
life-membei  in  1891  ;  valuable  papers  by  him  may  be  found 
in  the  publications  of  that  body.  He  was  one  of  the  foun- 
ders of  the  National  Council  of  Education  in  1881,  and 
served  on  the  committee  on  higher  education.  He  became 
a  trustee  of  the  Wisconsin  Institution  for  the  Deaf  in  1865, 
and  was  president  of  the  board  from  1873  till  1881,  when 
the  control  of  all  the  schools  for  the  defective  classes  was 
committed  to  one  general  board.  He  was  a  trustee  of  Rock- 
ford  Seminary  (now  College)  from  1845  to  1892,  and  of  the 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary  from  1858  to  1891.  He  was 
sent  as  an  examiner  to  the  Naval  School  in  Annapolis  in 
1872,  and  to  the  Military  School  at  West  Point  in  1873. 
In  more  distinctively  missionary  activity  he  was  profoundly 
interested  and  actively  helpful.  A  corporate  member  of  the 
"  American  Board  "  from  1851  to  1889,  and  its  special  com- 
missioner to  the  Turkish  missions  in  1883  ;  a  director  of  the 
Home  Missionary  Society  (1850-83);  sometime  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  American  Missionary  Association ;  chairman  of 
the  committee  of  the  Congregational  body  to  nominate  the 
"  creed-commission  "  in  1881 ;  a  member  of  the  International 
Sunday-school  lesson  committee  (1872-9) ;  in  all  these  offices 
he  rendered  faithful,  laborious,  and  highly  valued  service. 
In  a  life  so  busy  and  so  creative,  he  still  found  some  time  for 
work  in  authorship,  for  which  he  was  especially  fitted.  His 
best-known  works  are  a  recast  of  Wayland's  "Political  Econ- 
omy" (1878,  pp.  xvi.,  403),  his  own  "  First  Principles  of  Politi- 
cal Economy  "  (1879,  pp.  xvi.,  213),  and  his  contributions  to 
Johnson's  Cyclopedia.  He  was  married  in  1843  to  Miss 
Martha  Colton,  of  Lenox,  Massachusetts;  in  1861  to  Miss 
Fanny  L.  Coit,  of  New  London,  Connecticut.  The  latter 
and  four  children  survive  him,  his  oldest  daughter  being 
in  China — his  most  self-sacrificing  gift  to  the  educational 
work. 

H.  M.  Whitney. 


Ripon  College. 


The  first  building  in  what  is  now  the  city  of  Ripon  was 
erected  in  the  summer  of  1849.  In  1850  three  were  added, 
making  four  in  all.  The  Wisconsin  Phalanx,  a  company  of 
Fourierites,  were  on  the  ground  adjacent  some  years  before, 
having  begun  operations  in  May,  1844,  with  nineteen  resi- 
dent members.  They  increased  in  numbers,  secured  about 
two  thousand  acres  of  choice  land,  and  laid  out  the  village 
of  Ceresco,  which  occupied  the  ground  of  the  first  ward  of 
the  present  city  of  Ripon.  "The  want  of  social  adhesion" 
led  them  in  1850  to  divide  their  property  and  assume  indi- 
vidual claims.  Although  at  this  time  Ceresco  was  much 
more  important  than  the  newly  platted  village  of  Ripon, 
which  edged  up  to  the  old  town  with  a  saucy  defiance,  yet  it 
lacked  what  Ripon  had,  a  leader.  This  leader  was  Captain 
D.  P.  Mapes,  in  many  ways  a  marked  man.  Trained  in  busi- 
ness in  the  states  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  afterwards 
the  owner  of  a  steamboat  that  plied  between  Albany  and 
New  York,  accustomed  to  tlie  tough  conditions  that  belonged 
to  business  life  before  the  days  of  railroads  or  even  canals, 
he  brought  to  the  enterprise  of  building  a  new  city  the  cour- 
age, sagacity  and  magnetism  that  mark  the  veteran  general 
ot  many  hard  campaigns.  His  steamboat  was  sunk  at  the 
Palisades  in  the  Hudson  river,  and  with  her  went  down  the 
bulk  of  the  fortune  of  Captain  Mapes.  At  that  day  there 
was  one  commonly  accepted  way  of  mending  a  broken  for- 
tune :  it  was  to  gather  up  what  might  remain,  if  anything 
remained,  and  migrate  to  the  wonderlul  West.  Captain  Mapes 
heeded  the  prevailing  impulse  and  set  his  face  towards  the 
setting  sun.  His  steps  were  led — shall  we  say  by  a  divine 
hand  ? — to  the  delightful  spot  which  is  now  the  seat  of  Ripon 
college.  He  secured  a  large  tract  of  land,  laid  out  a  village, 
and  at  once  began  the  pioneer  work  needed  to  make  his  city 
the  ideal  one.  For  all  this  portion  of  the  state  he  wrought 
with  a  missionary  spirit  of  sacrifice  and  enthusiasm,  and  soon 
gathered  a  company  of  strong  men  and  women  who  had 
caught  the  inspiration  of  his  unflagging  courage  and  his  per- 
sonal magnetism. 

IM 


156  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

No  model  town  is  complete  without  a  college.  So 
thought  Captain  Mapes  and  his  co-founders.  In  the  winter 
of  1850-51,  though  the  hamlet  was  small  and  the  people 
poor,  the  building  of  the  college  was  projected.  Even  the 
prairies  surrounding  the  village  were  occupied  by  only  a 
tew,  and  were  for  the  most  part  untouched  by  the  plow. 
"  It  was  no  uncommon  thing,"  says  a  historian  referring  to 
those  days,  "  to  count  fifty  to  a  hundred  wagons  a  day  pass- 
ing through  the  then  newly-opened  Indian  land."  Lumber 
w^as  drawn  by  teams  from  the  river  towns,  twenty  miles 
distant.  But  the  work  began  in  earnest  in  the  spring  of 
1851.  The  ground  was  given  by  Captain  Mapes,  a  square 
acre  on  the  highest  point  of  College  hill,  the  spot  now  occupied 
by  East  college.  Subscriptions  to  the  amount  of  eight  hundred 
dollars  were  secured,  "  payable  in  goods,  lumber,  labor; 
lime,  grain  and  such  other  commodities  as  were  then  current." 
Of  money  there  was  little  ;  of  hearty  good-will  a  very  great 
deal.  The  leader  of  the  enterprise  gave  in  his  gold  watch 
to  the  work  as  the  need  became  pressing,  the  precious  re- 
minder of  more  prosperous  days.  During  the  summer  the 
walls  of  the  square  building,  fifty  feet  on  each  side,  went  up 
to  its  full  height  of  three  stories.  But  at  this  point  the 
work  halted  for  want  of  funds.  Tradition  has  it  that  Mr. 
Wm.  Brockway  then  subscribed  the  amount  necessary  to  put 
the  roof  over  the  walls,  about  $300,  and  that  the  projected 
institution  was  named  Brockway  college  in  recognition  of  a 
gift  which,  for  the  time,  was  regarded  as  munificent.  In 
his  History  of  Ripon,  Capt.  Mapes  says :  "  In  order  to  dispose 
of  stock,  I  proposed  to  grant  the  privilege  of  naming  the 
college  unto  the  person  who  should  take  the  largest 
amount."  Mr.  Brockway  proved  to  be  the  man,  and  the 
college  bore  his  name  until  1864,  when  "Ripon  "  was  substi- 
tuted in  the  charter  for  "  Brockway "  by  act  of  the  legis- 
lature. 

At  this  point  "the  builders  took  a  rest,"  is  the  significant 
remark  of  Mr.  Jehdeiah  Bowen,  the  author  of  a  brief  his- 
torical paper.  And  hecontmues:  "If  the  question  were 
asked,  what  was  intended  to  be  done  with  that  building, 
the  replies  of  those  who  contributed  might  have  differed 
widely.  While  some  would  have  said  that  it  was  designed 
for  a  high  school,  others  would  have  replied  that  it  was 
built  on  purpose  to  entice  settlers,  that  the  proprietors  might 
sell  village  lots.  But  whatever  motives  there  may  have 
been,  one  great  one  inspired  all :  the  pioneers  were  bound  to 


RIPOX   COLLEGE.  157 

show  their  respect  for  education.  And  through  dark  days 
as  well  as  sunshine  this  love  of  education  has  never  been 
quenched  among  our  people." 

For  a  year  the  walls  of  the  new  building  stood  bare,  the 
trustees  having  incurred  a  debt  in  building,  and  being  in 
doubt  as  to  what  exactly  all  their  work  was  for.  But  a 
divine  purpose  underruns  the  acts  of  men,  though  they  often 
recognize  it  not.  Looking  about  for  some  religious  denom- 
ination to  take  up  the  work,  the  trustees  made  overtures  to 
the  Winnebago  district  convention  of  Presbyterian  and  Con- 
gregational churches,  proposing  that  this  convention  assume 
one  half  of  the  debt,  amounting  in  all  to  about  $800,  com- 
plete the  college  building,  and  open  a  school  in  the  spring  of 
1853.  The  board  offered  to  convey  the  entire  property  to  the 
convention  when  they  should  engage  to  meet  these  con- 
ditions. The  proposition  of  the  board  was  conveyed  to  the 
convention  by  the  Rev.  F.  G.  Sherrill,  minister  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  at  Ripon.  The  ministers  and  churches 
of  tills  convention  had  the  traditional  instinct  of  Christian 
educators,  and  were  not  slow  to  respond  to  the  overtures 
that  seemed  to  come  to  them  so  providentially.  But  at  this 
time  the  churches  were  very  poor,  and  the  failure  of  the 
wheat  crop  that  year  added  to  their  distress.  They  could 
assume  no  additional  burdens,  however  small.  It  chanced, 
however,  that  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Walcott  had  recently  come 
among  them  and  was  minister  for  the  Congregational  church 
at  Menasha.  He  had  been  the  head  ot  an  academy  in  New 
York  and  had  brought  to  the  west  a  little  money,  the  savings 
from  his  frugal  life  as  a  teacher.  To  him  the  convention 
appealed,  asking  him  to  assume  the  work  of  the  new  college, 
and  practically  hold  it  for  the  convention  till  the  churches 
should  be  able  to  take  it  off  his  hands  and  reimburse  him  to 
the  amount  of  what  he  should  expend  from  his  private  funds. 
After  various  negotiations  the  arrangement  was  made.  In 
October,  1852,  the  convention  met  at  Racine,  and  the  follow- 
ing action  was  taken  :  "A  proposition  of  the  trustees  of 
Brockway  college  to  make  a  conditional  surrender  of  its 
charter,  subscription  list,  building,  and  so  forth,  into  the 
hands  of  the  convention  was  discussed,  and  the  whole 
management  of  the  matter  was  given  up  to  Rev.  J.  VV. 
Walcott." 

Mr.  Walcott  immediately  assumed  control  of  affairs,  and 
began  the  work  of  fitting  the  college  building  for  school  pur- 
poses, and  of  laying  the  foundations  for  an  "  institution  of  the 


158  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

highest  order."  Four  rooms  on  the  east  side  of  the  building 
were  finished  during  the  fall  and  winter  of  1852-3,  and  the 
school  was  opened  for  instruction  in  the  spring  of  1853. 
This  was  not  accomplished  without  a  strong  eti'ort  on  the 
part  of  the  leader  and  the  willing  co-operation  of  many  men. 
The  lumber  was  hauled  by  Julian  Rivers  from  Neenah,  a 
distance  of  over  thirty  miles.  Mr.  Walcott  purchased  land 
adjacent  to  the  original  plat,  so  that  the  campus  has  now 
about  eleven  acres  in  all.  The  opening  of  the  school  was  an 
occasion  of  great  joy.  Says  a  local  historian :  "  In  due  time 
the  opening  came.  Our  citizens  and  those  of  the  neighbor- 
ing towns  had  looked  forward  with  many  doubts  to  that  day; 
and  it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  feelings  of  our  little  com- 
munity when  this  step  was  gained." 

From  the  date  of  opening  till  1855  the  school  was  under 
the  exclusive  management  of  Mr.  Walcott,  with  such  assist- 
aiits  as  he  was  able  to  secure  from  a  very  slender  income. 
Miss  Martha  J.  Adams,  Mr.  M.  W.  Martin  and  Mr.  Alvan  E. 
Bovay  and  others  were  the  leading  assistants  during  this 
period.  Young  men  and  women  were  instructed  in  the 
same  classes,  and  the  studies  were  those  ordinarily  accepted 
in  fitting  for  the  colleges  of  that  day,  and  the  English 
branches  intended  to  furnish  a  practical  education.  No  col- 
lege classes  were  formed  and  no  college  work  was  attempted 
in  the  years  following  till  the  autumn  of  1863. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Winnebago  district  convention  at 
Fond  du  Lac,  October  5th,  1854,  Mr.  Walcott  made  a  definite 
proposition  to  transfer  the  college  property  to  the  convention 
or  to  a  board  of  trustees  to  be  appointed  by  tlie  convention, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  correspond  with  the 
ministers  and  churches  within  the  bounds  of  convention, 
to  mature  a  plan  and  report  at  the  next  regular  meeting. 
The  next  meeting  occurred  at  Rosendale,  on  January  16, 
1855.  At  this  meeting  a  committee  of  seven  was  appointed, 
which  was  charged  wiih  the  duty  of  appointing  an  agent  to 
raise  $2,500  for  the  general  purposes  of  the  college,  and  a 
further  sum  to  purchase  the  college  property  of  Mr.  Walcott. 
On  March  14  following,  the  committee  of  seven  reported  to  a 
special  meeting  of  the  convention  held  at  Ripon.  Their  report 
was  in  the  form  of  a  set  of  resolutions,  which  they  had 
previously  adopted,  and  recommended  that  the  convention 
purchase  the  college  property  of  Mr.  Walcott;  that  an  effort 
be  made  to  raise  money  for  endowments  so  that  the  college 
department  could  be  organized,  also  to  raise  $10,000  within 


160  KIPON   COLLEGE. 

six  months  to  purchase  the  college  property  and  erect  a  dor- 
mitory building ;  that,  inasmuch  as  there  was  "  ground  to 
apprehend  that  the  charter  under  which  the  college  was 
working"  was  void,  application  be  made  to  the  legislature 
for  a  new  one ;  and  that  Jackson  Tibbits  be  employed  as 
financial  agent.  The  convention  adopted  the  report  of  the 
committee,  but  on  condition  that  the  charter  members  of  the 
board  of  trustees  "  fill  the  vacancies  existing,  from  such 
persons  as  the  convention  shall  nominate  and  approve,  and 
that  all  future  vacancies  be  filled  in  the  same  manner."  The 
committee,  on  their  own  motion,  had  already  secured  the 
new  charter,  which  was  granted  by  the  legislature  February 
9th,  1855.  The  members  of  the  board  named  in  the  charter 
were  Ezra  L.  Northrop,  Jehdeiah  Bowen,  Jeremiah  W.  Wal- 
cott,  Silas  Hawley,  Dana  Lamb,  Bertine  Pinkney,  Charles 
H.  Camp,  Harvey  Grant, Sherlock  Bristol  and  tiie  "president 
of  the  collegiate  faculty  for  the  time  being."  These  members 
were  given  power  to  increase  their  number  to  fifteen,  and  on 
March  19th,  the  following  persons  were  added  on  nomination 
of  convention:  A.  M.  Skeels,  Jeremiah  Porter, Joseph  Jack- 
son, A.  B.  Preston,  and  Richard  Catlin. 

Although  the  money  had  not  yet  been  raised  to  reim- 
burse Mr.  Walcott,  and  the  title  to  the  property  was  still  in 
him,  yet  the  board  proceeded  to  secure  funds  for  the  contem- 
plated dormitory  building.  The  board  met  on  April  23, 1855, 
wdien  the  committee  on  subscriptions  were  able  to  report 
$4,000  pledged  for  the  new  building.  Encouraged  by  this, 
the  executive  committee,  with  Messrs.  Skeels,  Northrop  and 
Lamb  added,  were  appointed  a  building  committee,  and  this 
committee  was  instructed  to  "  erect  as  speedily  as  the  means 
raised  by  the  agent  should  admit,  a  dormitory  building, 
three  stories  in  height,  and  not  to  exceed  one  hundred  and 
ten  feet  in  length  by  forty-four  feet  in  width,  and  that  said 
building  be  of  stone."  This  building,  erected  according  to 
the  general  plan  indicated  above,  is  the  present  Middle 
college. 

On  February  21,  1857,  Mr.  Walcott  deeded  the  college 
property  to  the  board  of  trustees,  they  securing  him  for  his 
claim  of  six  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dol- 
lars by  notes  and  a  mortgage  on  the  entire  realty.  The  deed 
recognized  the  right  of  the  Winnebago  convention  to  nomi- 
nate candidates  to  fill  vacancies  in  the  board,  and  had  a  clause 
providing  that  the  property  should  revert  to  Mr.  Walcott  or 
bis  heirs,  if  it  should  ever  be  used  for  other  than  school  pur- 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  161 

poses.  The  campus  conveyed  embraced  about  nine  acres, 
which  has  since  been  enlarged  by  the  purchase  of  about  two 
additional  acres.  The  dormitory  building  contemplated  in 
the  vote  of  April,  1855,  was  not  ready  for  use  till  the  latter 
part  of  the  autumn  of  1858,  and  was  not  fully  completed  till 
the  summer  of  1863.  The  years  from  1855  to  1862  witnessed 
serious  struggles  and  strifes  in  the  young  college  enterprise. 
Although  several  efforts  were  put  fortii,  little  progress  was 
made  towards  paying  the  claims  of  Mr.  Walcott.  A  misun- 
derstanding arose  between  Mr.  Walcott  and  several  of  the 
largest  subscribers  to  the  building  fund,  on  account  of  which 
conferences  and  negotiations  were  had  that  extended  through 
several  years.  Besides  those  immediatel}'  interested  a  large 
number  of  citizens  and  members  of  convention  and  of  the 
neighboring  churches  became  involved  in  the  case,  and  the 
result  was  no  little  of  acrimony  and  loss  of  moral  enthusiasm. 
Mr.  Walcott  retired  from  the  principalship  of  the  college  and 
resigned  his  membership  in  the  board  of  trustees,  and  the 
offended  subscribers  to  the  funds  of  the  college  refused  to  pay 
their  subscriptions,  claiming  that  they  were  morally  released 
on  the  ground  that  the  management  of  the  college  had  not 
been  what  they  had  a  right  to  expect.  This  refusal  led  to 
most  serious  financial  embarrassment,for  obligations  had  been 
incurred  by  the  board  relying  on  these  large  pledges  to  meet 
them.  Besides  all  this,  the  policy  of  the  college  was  as  yet 
unsettled,  the  votes  and  discussions  of  these  years  indicating 
a  doubt  whether  the  institution  should  ultimately  become  a 
real  college;  whether,  if  it  should,  men  and  women  should 
be  educated  together  in  it;  or  whether  it  should  at  length  be 
a  "  female  "  seminary  or  college,  with  a  preparatory  depart- 
ment for  boys  and  girls.  A  strong  influence  from  the  south- 
ern portion  of  the  state,  especially  from  the  supporters  of 
Beloit  college,  was  constantly  felt  adverse  to  the  plan  of  mak- 
ing a  full  college  for  men  and  women.  Finally  the  financial 
crisis  of  1857  came  upon  the  country  with  a  crash  which, 
with  the  other  difficulties,  shook  the  faith  of  many.  Never- 
theless, though  embarrassed,  the  cause  was  not  deserted.  The 
school  was  maintained,  and  efforts  were  still  continued  to 
weather  the  storm.  Among  those  who  rendered  efficient,  and 
largely  unremunerated,  service  during  these  years,  were  Rev. 
Dana  Lamb,  a  shrewd,  magnetic  and  courageous  man ;  Rev. 
J.  W.  Walcott,  who,  though  buffeted,  never  allowed  his  love 
for  the  college  to  grow  cold;  Rev.  H.  M.  Chapin,  a  determined 
and  persistent  solicitor  of   funds,  and  Rev.  J.  J.  Miter,  the 


162  (  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

scholarly  and  accomplished  pastor  of  the  church  at  Beaver 
Dam.  To  recount  in  detail  the  labors  of  these  men,  together 
with  those  of  others  who  faithfully  served  the  college  loyally^ 
would  require  volumes. 

But  the  storms  without  did  not  disturb  disastrously  the 
quiet  within,  for  the  work  in  the  school-rooms  went  steadily 
on.  Mr.  G.  B.  Cooley  and  Miss  Martha  J.  Adams,  aiid  after- 
wards Mr.  C.  C.  Bay  ley  and  Mrs.  C.  T.  Tracy  were  the 
responsible  beads  of  the  work  from  1857  to  1861.  Mr. 
Bayley  was  a  graduate  of  Amherst  college,  an  old  teacher^ 
and  an  especially  fine  classical  scholar.  Though  there  Avere 
no  college  classes  for  him  to  teach,  yet  he  did  httiug  work  of 
most  excellent  quality.  Mrs.  C.  T.  Tracy,  was  appointed 
matron  and  teacher  October  3, 1859,  and  has  had  a  continuous 
service  on  the  grounds  from  that  day  to  the  present  time. 
The  appointment  of  Mrs.  Tracy  was  an  event  of  providential 
significance.  A  woman  of  great  intellectual  vigor;  well 
equipped  in  the  branches  required  to  be  taught,  especially 
in  mathematics  and  botany,  in  the  latter  of  which  she  is 
an  acknowledged  expert;  of  uncommon  strength  and  solidity 
of  character;  unconquerable  in  courage  and  fertile  in 
resources;  self-sacrificing  to  the  last  degree  for  any  good 
cause  she  may  have  espoused ;  she  has  been  a  center  of 
moral  and  intellectual  unity  through  trying  years,  on  which 
the  faith  of  weaker  natures  has  taken  hold  as  of  a  cable  of 
steel  in  a  difficult  pass.  It  is  no  wonder  that  President 
Merriman  on  one  occasion,  in  speaking  of  her  surprising 
capability  in  managing  the  internal  domestic  affairs  of  the 
college,  declared  that  he  considered  her  service  to  the  col- 
lege of  more  importance  than  his  own. 

On  the  lOtli  of  September,  1861,  the  executive  com- 
mittee, having  been  empowered  by  previous  action  of  the 
board  to  do  so,  let  the  buildings  and  grounds  of  the  college  to 
the  government,  to  be  occupied  by  the  First  regiment  of 
Wisconsin  cavalry  till  the  10th  of  October.  At  a  subsequent 
meeting  the  time  was  extended  to  December  1st,  and  the 
grounds  were  not  vacated  till  November  28. 

At  this  time  the  conditions  were  not  favorable  for  open- 
ing the  school.  Many  of  the  young  men  had  entered  the 
army,  the  principal  that  had  been  engaged  to  take  the  place 
of  Mr.  Bayley,  who  had  resigned  at  the  end  of  the  previous 
school  year,  could  not  then  be  secured,  and  the  financial  dis- 
tress of  the  college  was  extreme.  It  was  decided  to  suspend 
the  school   for  one  year.     Mrs.   Tracy,   however,   occupied 


. 

mL^f^ 

b 

1 

JS|H|k            ...  f 

^ 

f 

1                                             "''^^■I^H^I 

^' 

5 

— i t 

164  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

rooms  in  the  dormitory  building  and  tauglit  a  select  sclioo| 
on  her  own  account,  and  Miss  Martha  Wheeler,  now  Mrs.  G. 
M.  Paine,  of  Oshkosh,  occupied  other  rooms,  and  taught 
classes  in  music.  Not  a  little  work  was  done  in  tliisyear  to 
raise  money  to  pay  the  indebtedness,  chiefly  by  the  Rev.  J. 
A.  Hawley,  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  and  pastor  of 
the  Ripon  Congregational  church,  and  Rev.  H.  M.  Chapin, 
who  had  been  employed  as  financial  agent.  On  July  30, 
1862,  report  was  made  to  the  board  that  $10,000  in  pledges 
bad  been  secured,  an  amount  deemed  at  that  time  sufficient 
to  meet  all  indebtedness.  But  many  of  these  pledges  were 
given  on  condition  that  when  paid  all  debts  against  the  col- 
lege should  be  extinguished,  and  another  class  was  made  up 
of  subscriptions  difficult  to  collect,  so  that  the  conditional 
pledges  could  not  be  called  in.  The  debt  was  drawing  in- 
terest at  the  rate  of  twelve  per  cent.,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact 
collections  could  be  made  only  about  sufficient  to  pay  the  in- 
terest as  it  accrued.  A  debt  of  from  $10,000  to  $12,000,  drawijig 
interest  at  the  rate  of  twelve  per  cent.;  subscriptions  to  meet 
it,  the  larger  part  of  which  could  not  be  collected  because  of 
conditions  attached  ;  college  property  greatly  damaged  by  the 
soldiers  and  no  more  than  enough  at  forced  sale  to  meet  the 
indebtedness  against  it;  and  a  general  feeling  of  doubt  as  to 
the  possibility  of  carrying  the  enterprise  successfully  through 
the  difficulties  with  which  it  was  encompassed; — such  were  the 
conditions  that  confronted  the  teachers  who  reopened  the 
school  in  September,  1862.  Mr.  E.  H.  Merrell,  principal ; 
Mrs.  C.  T.  Tracy,  matron  and  teacher  of  mathematics  and 
botany  ;  Miss  J.  R.  Hosford,  teacher  of  French  and  English 
branches,  and  Miss  Augusta  Camp,  teacher  of  music,  were 
the  instructors.  Twenty-three  pupils  greeted  the  teachers  the 
first  day,  and  the  number  increased  to  nearly  one  hundred 
before  December.  This  year  was  a  prosperous  one  so  far  as 
the  internal  work  was  concerned,  and  did  much  to  win  back 
the  confidence  ot  the  people  towards  the  struggling  college. 
Mr.  Hawley  made  no  little  effort  to  raise  money,  but  almost 
no  progress  was  made  during  the  year  in  lifting  the  burden 
of  debt.  Still  a  new  life  was  infused  into  the  enterprise  which 
was  prophetic  of  triumnhs  to  come. 

On  the  23d  of  April,  1863,  the  Rev.  William  E.  Merri- 
man,  a  graduate  of  Williams  college  and  of  Union  theologi- 
cal seminar}',  then  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at 
Green  Bay,  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  college  at  a 
salary  of  $1,000  a  year,  and  Mr.  Merrell  was  made  professor 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  165 

of  ancient  languages.  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Merriman 
was  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  college.  He  accepted  the 
appointment  on  the  21st  of  July,  and  began  work  at  once. 
The  obstacles  that  confronted  him  were  extraordinary,  but 
he  at  once  exhibited  a  power  to  overcome  them  which  was 
also  extraordinar3^  He  was  in  the  prime  of  mature  man- 
hood, and  though  infirm  in  health  even  then,  he  had  the 
power  of  swift  and  effective  work.  His  intellect  was  natu- 
rally of  great  strength,  and  it  was  so  completely  trained 
that  he  was  a  master  in  dialectics.  He  was  looked  for  to 
make  the  best  speech  on  any  occasion  that  called  strong  men 
together,  even  when  he  had  received  no  previous  notice  that 
he  was  expected  to  appear.  His  princely  will  commanded 
every  last  faculty  and  resource  within  him.  His  Christian 
consecration  and  enthusiasm  were  so  complete  and  magnetic 
that  he  carried  about  with  himself  a  living  rebuke  for  sel- 
fishness, and  inspiration  for  the  fainting.  Though  the  case 
of  the  college  was  depressing  enough,  yet  he  found  neither 
indifference  nor  distrust,  for  they  fled  before  him  like  the 
mists  before  a  fresh  breeze.  Knowing  that  men  find  in  con- 
ditions largely  what  they  have  predetermined  to  find,  he  de- 
termined to  find,  what  he  actually  did  discover,  the  ele- 
ments of  success.  He  was  full  of  schemes,  using  the  word 
in  its  best  sense,  and  if  one  failed  he  was  ready  with  another. 
His  quiver  was  full  of  arrows,  and  a  second  was  instantly  in 
place  if  the  first  failed  of  the  mark.  He  missed  no  oppor- 
tunity to  put  in  effective  work  for  the  college  or  for  intellec- 
tual and  spiritual  uplift  among  the  students  and  people. 
Although  the  institution  had  at  this  time  no  endowment, 
only  one  professor  besides  ihe  president,  and  less  than  a  half 
dozen  students  of  college  grade,  yet  it  took  its  place  at  once 
among  the  churches  and  people  of  intellectual  and  moral 
leadership. 

In  President  Merriman's  letter  of  acceptance  we  find  an 
entirely  characteristic  platform  for  the  guidance  of  future 
work.  It  is  evidently  the  product  of  a  mind  that  knew  pre- 
cisely what  was  needed,  and  that  had  no  faltering  doubts  as 
to  ability  to  meet  the  need.  The  principles  of  this  platform 
were  the  guide  in  the  administration  of  the  financial  affairs 
of  the  college  for  many  subsequent  years,  and  the  conse- 
quence was  a  constantly  constructive  policy  in  its  manage- 
ment. The  president  said  :  "  I  hereby  accept  your  appoint- 
ment and  will  begin  my  official  duties  immediately.  But  I 
here  distinctly  state  that  I  accept  this  appointment  with  the 


166  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

following  express  understanding  :  First.  That  it  is  the  aim 
of  the  trustees  and  friends  of  this  institution  to  raise  its 
grade  so  fast,  and  only  so  fast,  as  its  own  growth  and  the 
wants  of  the  country  allow,  till  it  becomes  one  of  the  highest 
order.  Second.  That  meanwhile  we  will  prosecute  the  work 
of  preparatory  and  academical  instruction  as  efficiently  as 
possible;  and  that  we  will  neither  let  our  work  at  the  pres- 
ent limit  our  plans  for  the  future,  nor  our  hopes  for  the 
future  interfere  with  the  needed  work  of  the  present.  Third. 
That  we  will  on  no  account  allow  the  institution  to  incur 
any  more  debt.  Fourth.  That  we  will  exert  ourselves  to  the 
utmost  to  pay  the  present  debt,  and  complete  the  buildings 
this  year;  and  I  would  have  it  fully  understood  that  I  give 
no  promise  or  encouragement  of  continuing  in  the  service  of 
the  institution,  if  both  of  these  objects  cannot  be  effected 
during  the  year  to  come."  The  work  of  raising  the  money 
for  the  completion  of  the  buildings  fell  to  the  lot  of  Prof. 
Merrell,  and  was  successful.  The  west  half  of  the  East 
college  and  all  of  the  third  story  presented  only  bare  walls 
up  to  this  time,  and  Middle  college  needed  doors  for  the 
upper  story,  stair  rails,  balustrades  and  so  forth.  Both  build- 
ings were  completed  and  furnished  within  the  year,  and  were 
well  filled  with  students.  As  to  the  debt,  the  president 
reported,  July  20,1864,  as  follow^s:  "Both  mortgages  on  the 
college  property  have  been  paid  up  and  satisfied.  *  *  * 
Mr.  Walcott  gave  $500  for  this  purpose,  in  addition  to  his 
former  subscriptions.  There  is  now  no  incumbrance  on  the 
college  premises.  The  floating  debt  is  all  paid  but  about 
$300,  which  it  is  expected  will  be  removed  very  soon." 
Besides  the  work  of  soliciting  funds  and  lecturing  before  the 
students,  the  president  had  preached  in  various  places  on 
Sundays.  He  did  an  especially  effective  service  in  supplying 
the  pulpit  of  the  Congregational  church,  of  Ripon,  which  had 
become  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Hawley.  This  vacancy 
gave  him  a  rare  opportunity  to  lead  and  impress  the  entire 
people.  For  all  of  this  service  he  received  but  a  pittance  as 
salary.  In  his  annual  report  is  found  this  item :  "  The 
president  will  receive  for  his  services  tiiis  year  the  board  of 
himself  and  family  [four  persons]  in  the  college  building 
about  three-fourths  of  the  time.  The  rest  of  his  salary  he  re- 
linquishes to  the  college,  so  that  it  may  be  brought  out  of  debt." 
During  the  period  of  his  service  for  the  college  he  received  an 
average  salary  ot  about  $800  a  year,  thougii  he  was  frequently 
ofiFered  many  times  that  sum  for  work  in  other  fields. 


^^n/^^^^^H 

I    ^ 

K 

!^^^B 

^HHI 

» 

^Pi^'^^3^ 

- 

f- 

H 

H 

^Hb^ 

s 

^w^SJI^^^^^I 

o 

^ 

iiJ||P%v' ' 

c 

iJI 

■ 

."    ■ 

^diL_j^^^i 

'flfv  '^m 

/J 

^HJ^^flU 

&v^<^ 

B^^ 

HL i  iii'  ij^        ^ 

^^^m  i-'.. 

^BWSU 

4^^ 

^^^^^^v : i 

f,'^^3^?&  ""'■'-'' "*! 

P 

Xt^ 

168  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

In  this  great  work  of  clearing  the  college  of  deht, 
mention  should  be  made  of  the  Rev.  Sherlock  Bristol,  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees,  then  residing  at  Dartford. 
But  for  his  sacrifice  and  faith  it  is  difficult  to  conjecture  even 
at  this  day  how  the  work  of  the  president  could  have  been 
successful.  He  had  converted  his  worldly  effects  into  money, 
expecting  soon  to  remove  with  his  family  to  California. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  fact  that  several  of 
the  largest  subscriptions  were  conditional,  and  to  be  paid 
only  when  the  payment  of  them  would  extinguish  the  entire 
indebtedness.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  president,  Mr.  Bristol 
bought  all  of  the  smaller  subscription  and  those  slow  of  col- 
lection in  a  lump,  and  paid  for  them  in  cash.  With  this 
money  in  hand  the  president  immediately  called  in  the  con- 
ditional pledges,  and  the  mortgages  were  paid  on  the  fifth  of 
July,  1864.  The  board  ratified  the  arrangement  formally 
by  turning  over  to  Mr.  Bristol  the  "assets  of  the  institution, 
except  what  was  on  the  college  premises,  after  paying  the 
residue  of  the  floating  debt."  When  the  money  had  been 
realized  from  the  larger  portion  of  these  assets,  Mr.  Bristol 
gave  the  rest  to  the  college,  a  gift  from  his  slender  fortune  of 
more  than  a  tenth  of  the  whole.  Such  was  the  spirit  of  the 
founders. 

In  this  year  three  changes  were  made  in  the  charter  by 
act  of  legislature,  published  April  11.  The  name  of  the 
college  was  changed  from  "Brockway"  to  "Ripon" ;  the 
college  was  permitted  to  hold  for  its  uses  "lands  in  the  city 
of  Ripon"  instead  of  merely  "adjacent  lands"  to  the  campus  ; 
and  "to  hold  free  of  taxation  any  lands  acquired  by  donation, 
or  bequest,  expressly  for  educational  purposes,  and  for  the 
endowment  of  the  institution,  to  the  amount  of  ten  thousand 
acres  at  any  one  time,  while  held  in  fee  simple  and  unin- 
cumbered." 

In  this  year  of  1863-64  the  first  college  work  was 
done,  a  class  of  solid  students  having  been  carried  through 
the  freshman  year.  The  most  of  these  were  subsequently 
graduated,  and  have  achieved  distinguished  success  in  the 
world.  The  works  of  Pinkerton  and  Tracy  have  been 
widely  celebrated. 

For  all  the  achievements  of  this  crucial  year,  we  are 
not  surprised  that  the  board  tarried  to  put  on  record  their 
feelings  of  *'  devout  gratitude  to  God." 

One  of  the  prime  characteristics  of  the  president  ap- 
peared in  a  vote  passed  at  the  end  of  this  July   meeting   of 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  169 

the  board  in  1864.  He  never  sat  down  with  the  question 
whether  or  not  the  conditions  were  favorable  for  an  advance, 
or  whether  he  had  influence  to  win  favor  to  the  college. 
He  assumed  that  the  advance  was  to  be  constant,  and  that 
influence  was  to  be  secured  by  a  steady  progress.  During 
his  entire  administration  he  had  in  liand  some  special  work 
of  up-building,  to  which  he  committed  himself  with  his 
immense  energy.  At  his  suggestion,  therefore,  the  board 
voted  to  proceed  at  once  to  atiemj)t  to  raise  $12,000  within 
one  year  to  endow  one  professorship,  "with  the  express  in- 
tention of  raising  other  endowments  as  soon  as  practicable, 
until  the  whole  amount  raised  should  be  $50,000."  One 
thousand  dollars  also  was  to  be  sought  during  the  year  for 
books  and  apparatus.  The  platform  of  the  president  in  regard 
to  debt  was  severely  adhered  to.  It  was  a  common  statement 
in  speech  and  print,  that  the  college  was  operated  on  its  own 
earnings,  and  all  tiie  money  contributed  was  used  for  build- 
ing up  the  institution.  The  president's silary  was  nominally 
$800  a  year,  but  was  not  paid  in  full ;  the  salaries  of  the  other 
teachers  were  Irom  $300  to  $600  a  year. 

By  1866  the  buildings  were  filled  to  their  utmost 
capacity,  and  steps  were  taken  to  erect  a  new  one.  At  its 
meeting  on  May  'i2d,  1866,  the  board  voted  "that the  execu- 
tive committee  be  authorized  to  proceed  with  the  erection  of 
the  new  building  when,  in  their  judgment,  the  subscrip- 
tion shall  amount  to  a  sufficient  sum  to  warrant  such  com- 
mencement." At  this  meeting  the  Revs.  W.  H.  Ward,  M. 
Montague,  and  Mr.  Daniel  Merriman,  were  appointed  to 
professorships — a  venturesome  step,  since  there  were  no 
endowments  for  the  chairs  to  which  they  were  assigned,  and 
the  income  from  the  general  endowment  at  this  time  was 
less  than  enough  to  pay  the  salary  of  the  president. 

Work  for  tiie  new  college  building,  now  West  college, 
was  begun  in  April  of  1867,  citizens  of  Ripon  having  sub- 
scribed about  $6,000  towards  its  erection.  It  was  completed 
and  opened  for  occupancy  at  the  beginning  of  the  term  in 
September  of  the  same  year.  The  last  bills  for  this  build- 
ing, amounting  to  above  $3,000,  were  paid  by  the  president 
personally,  he  taking  the  risk  ot  reimbursing  himself  by 
future  solicitations.  He  was  finally  paid  in  full,  though  he 
carried  the  debt  witliout  any  charge  lor  interest,  and  he 
never  allowed  work  to  raise  money  lor  this  purpose  to  inter- 
fere with  those  larger  movements  for  which  he  was  con- 
stantly soliciting  funds. 


170  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

In  the  year  1868  a  point  was  gained  which  was  perhaps 
more  important  to  the  college  than  any  other  in  its  history 
to  that  time.  This  was  the  endorsement  in  November  of 
that  year  of  the  work  by  the  society  for  the  promotion  of 
collegiate  and  theological  education  in  the  west.  Up  to  this 
time  the  work  had  been  local  and  its  aim  equivocal ;  the 
endorsement  of  this  society,  which  placed  it  on  its  list  for 
promotion  at  the  East,  committed  all  its  officers  and  sup- 
porters to  the  work  of  building  according  to  the  American 
college  idea  and  plan,  beyond  the  possibility  of  honorable 
retreat.  It  was  very  important  to  have  that  question  settled 
once  for  all.  But  what  was  essential  to  the  securing  of  this 
endorsement  was  of  scarcely  secondary  importance.  Secre- 
tary Baldwin,  of  the  college  society,  had  been  on  the  ground 
and  had  studied  the  problem  with  care.  Great  interest  was 
felt  as  to  the  conclusions  he  should  reach,  for  he  was  the 
working  head  of  the  society  and,  what  was  quite  as  signifi- 
cant, he  was  confessedly  the  broadest  and  most  capable  man 
of  his  time  in  the  business  of  American  college  building. 
Before  he  left  he  assured  the  trustees  that  two  things  would 
be  essential  to  the  securing  of  even  a  consideration  of  the 
case  of  Ripon  college  by  the  directors  of  the  society :  First, 
the  reversionary  right  of  Mr.  Walcott  must  be  given  up  by 
him ;  and,  second,  the  college  must  be  made  free  of  all  de- 
nominational entanglements — which  referred  to  the  right  of 
the  Winnebago  convention  to  nominate  the  candidates  for 
vacancies  in  the  board  of  trustees.  The  policy  of  the  society 
was  then,  as  it  always  has  been,  to  require  that  all  institu- 
tions aided  shall  be  under  the  control  of  independent  and 
self-perpetuating  boards.  Both  of  these  points  were  happily 
gained,  the  latter,  however,  not  without  a  long  and  sharp 
debate.  On  July  9,  1868,  Mr.  Walcott  executed  to  the  board 
a  deed  of  trust,  in  which  he  conveyed  to  them  "  all  his  right, 
title  and  interest  in  and  to  the  reversionary  clause  "  con- 
tained in  the  former  deed.  But  this  deed  properly  specified 
that  the  property  should  "  be  held  by  them  in  trust  for  the 
uses  and  purposes  specified"  in  the  former  deed.  That  is,  Mr. 
Walcott  constituted  the  board  his  personal  trustees  to  carry 
out  his  will  that  the  college  property  should  be  used  forever 
for  educational  purposes. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Winnebago  convention  June  15- 
18,  1868,  alter  protracted  debate,  among  other  resolutions, 
the  following  was  passed  by  a  large  majority  :  "  That  as  the 
reasons  why  it  has  hitherto  been  important  that  the  conven- 


^^UTa^iW^^tlmiy 

ki^A 

H 

rlte^T^' ' 

■ }  '-• 

172  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

tion  should  control  the  election  of  trustees  of  the  college  have 
ceased;  and  as  it  is  now  essential  to  the  prosperity  and  pro- 
gress of  the  college,  and  especially  essential  to  obtaining  the 
aid  of  the  Western  college  society,  that  it  should  be  free  from 
ecclesiastical  control,  this  convention  relinquishes  all  claim 
to  the  right  of  nominating  trustees  to  fill  vacancies  in  the 
board  of  trustees."  In  another  resolution  it  was  added  that 
"this  action  was  not  intended  to  detach  tlie  college  from  the 
interest,  influence,  and  sympathy  of  the  convention  or  of  the 
churches,  but  to  engage  the  churches  more  earnestly  in 
building  it  up." 

Another  preliminary  step  towards  securing  the  support 
of  the  college  society  consisted  in  gaining  the  endorsement 
of  the  college  in  its  aims  and  applications  by  the  general  con- 
vention of  the  state.  At  its  meeting  at  Ripon  in  October, 
1868,  the  convention  unanimously  endorsed  and  recom- 
mended the  college  in  its  proposed  effort  to  obtain  $100,000  for 
endowment,  and  also  the  aid  of  the  Western  college  society. 
The  spirit  of  this  action  has  been  reaffirmed  in  many  subse- 
quent votes  of  the  convention,  so  that  the  time  has  long  passed 
when  the  question  as  to  what  the  churches  intend  concerning 
the  college  needs  to  be  raised. 

In  November  of  1868,  the  president  made  application  to 
the  college  society  for  recognition  and  endorsement,  and  the 
application  was  acted  on  favorably.  "The  directors  of  the 
society  resolved  to  accept  Ripon  college  as  one  of  its  benefici- 
aries, and  to  aid  it  in  obtaining  at  the  East  $50,000  for  en- 
dowment." This  action  f)ut  the  institution  on  a  footing  of 
fair  recognition  in  the  Iraternity  of  colleges,  and  from  this 
point  its  financial  condition  began  to  improve  rapidly.  At 
the  annual  meeting  in  July,  18t)9,  the  salary  of  the  president 
was  raised  Irom  $800  to  $1,000  a  year,  and  the  salaries  of  pro- 
fessors from  $700  to  $840.  The  years  from  1868  to  1875  can 
well  be  called  the  period  of  prosperous  consolidation.  No 
marked  events  occurred  to  change  the  order  of  things  or  to 
initiate  some  great  advance.  The  well-defined  characteristics 
of  the  college  appeared  in  hard  work  by  the  faculty,  a  spirit 
of  consecration  to  the  service,  marked  diligence  on  the  part 
of  the  students,  and  a  vivid  and  strong  current  of  religious 
influence.  No  student  in  those  years  could  be  connected 
with  the  college  for  any  considerable  period  without  being 
profoundly  impressed,  and  great  numbers  were  brought  tri- 
umphantly under  the  saving  power  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 
The  college  took  its  proper  place  of  pre-eminence  in  local  re- 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  173 

forius,  and  its  influence  was  marked  throughout  the  churches 
of  the  commonwealth.  It  is  but  historic  justice  to  say  that 
this  was  in  a  great  measure  due  to  the  superb  intellectual 
and  spiritual  leadership  of  the  president,  though  he  was 
grandly  supported  in  his  chief  aims  by  the  faculty,  the  stu- 
dents and  the  local  church.  Believing,  as  he  once  remarked, 
that  he  had  at  his  hand  more  of  moldable  mind  than  any 
pastor  in  the  state,  he  sought  opportunities  to  address  and 
instruct  the  students  assembled  in  chapel,  and  the  impress- 
ions of  his  powerful  appeals  are  among  the  things  vividly 
remembered  and  otten  mentioned  by  the  older  students. 

No  new  buildings  were  erected  in  the  period  we  are 
considering,  and  little  was  added  to  the  equipment  for 
illustrating  the  sciences  or  for  laboratory  work.  Large  ad- 
ditions were  made  to  the  library,  and  about  $60,000  was 
secured  toward  the  general  endowment  for  the  payment  of 
teachers.  During  these  years  and  the  previous  ones  as  far 
back  as  1862,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  the  work  of  the  college 
could  have  been  sustained  on  the  accepted  principle  of  operat- 
ing it  on  its  own  earnings,  but  for  the  surprising  thorough- 
ness and  economy  with  which  the  domestic  department  was 
managed  under  the  headship  of  Mrs.  Tracy,  The  number 
of  boarders  was  large,  and  the  income  from  the  department 
exceeded  the  expenditures  by  a  handsome  sura  each  year. 
Doubtless  less  was  accomplished  in  the  last  years  of  President 
Merriman's  administration,  much  though  it  was,  than  would 
have  been  possible,  if  his  health  had  not  been  impaired.  He 
often  labored  for  weeks  together  in  intense  pain.  A  scholar- 
ship scheme  was  adopted  and  canvassing  for  the  sale  of 
certificates  begun,  but  the  work  of  carrying  it  through  was 
impossible  on  account  of  the  president's  impaired  health  and 
other  limitations. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  June  30th,  1874,  the  president 
was  granted  leave  of  absence,  on  account  of  ill  health,  for 
six  months,  with  salary  continued,  and  Professor  Merrell 
was  requested  to  act  in  the  place  of  the  president  during  his 
absence.  But  this  respite  did  little  to\vards  restoring  his 
health,  and  at  the  annual  meeting,  June  29th,  1875,  the 
board  voted  to  grant  him  "a  complete  release  from  all 
official  duty  connected  with  the  college,  excepting  such  as  he 
might  choose  to  perform,  until  in  his  own  judgment  and  that 
of  his  physicians,  he  should  be  so  far  restored  as  to  be  able 
to  return  to  his  work."  His  salary  was  in  the  meantime  to 
be  continued,  but  he  did  not  accept  the  generosity   of  the 


174  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

board  in  this  respect.  Professor  Merrell  was  made  acting 
president,  to  continue  such  during  the  absence  of  the  presi- 
dent. Tlie  president  spent  the  following  year  in  travel  in 
Europe  and  the  farther  East.  His  health  was  little  im- 
proved during  the  year,  so  that  his  work  for  the  college 
practically  ended  in  June,  1875.  At  the  annual  meeting, 
June  16,  1876,  his  resignation  as  president  was  presented  to 
the  board  and  it  was  accepted,  though  with  great  reluctance. 
Professor  E.  H.  Merrell  was  appointed  his  successor  at  the 
same  meeting. 

The  incumbency  of  President  Merrell  continued  to  the 
end  of  the  school  year  in  1891,  his  administration  covering 
a  space  of  sixteen  years,  including  the  one  year  of  acting- 
presidency.  The  double  duty  of  conducting  the  adminis- 
tration and  caring  for  a  department  of  instruction,  was 
undermining  his  health,  and  made  his  resignation  at  length 
a  necessity.  The  labor  of  building  up  the  material  side  of 
the  work,  a  responsibility  that  rested  on  the  president,  ex- 
acting at  all  times,  had  come  to  be  excessive.  .  By  the  desire 
of  the  faculty  and  trustees,  Mr.  Merrell  retains  his  chair  of 
mental  and  moral  philosophy. 

President  Merrell  has  been  connected  with  the  college 
since  the  autumn  of  1862.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Oberlin 
College  and  of  Oberlin  theological  seminar}^  and  was  a  tutor 
in  his  alma  mater  at  the  time  of  his  first  appointment  at 
Ripon.  Having  been  connected  with  the  college  during  its 
formative  period,  he  had  learned  to  turn  his  hand  to  many 
forms  of  work.  He  had  taught  more  or  less  in  all  depart- 
ments, had  given  much  thought  and  labor  to  the  "  secular- 
ities  "  of  the  institution,  and  was  fully  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
the  new  enterprise.  It  was  a  remark  of  President  Merriman 
that  Mr.  Merrell's  work  during  the  year  1862-3  had  brought 
the  college  to  sucli  a  condition  that  he  dared  to  take  hold  of  it. 

During  President  Merrell's  administration  the  general 
policy  of  the  college  as  to  intellectual  and  moral  aims  and 
spirit,  as  well  as  that  relating  to  economy,  was  maintained. 
Large  additions  were  made  to  the  library  ;  chemical  and 
biological  laboratories  were  established  ;  four  new  buildings 
were  added,  including  the  rebuilding  of  East  college;  and  the 
endowment  funds  were  about  trebled.  During  these  years 
the  interest  in  the  famous  Erwin  estate  was  secured,  from 
which  it  is  expected  that  $100,000  will  soon  be  added  to  the 
resources  of  the  college.  This  was  not  accomplished  without 
much  of  specific  labor  for  particular  objects. 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  175 

In  the  autumn  of  1876  the  chemical  laboratory  building 
was  erected,  together  with  the  transit  house  annexed.  The 
impulse  to  secure  this  enlargement  was  given  by  the  offer  for 
sale  of  the  transit  telescope  and  the  chronograph  that  had 
been  in  use  in  the  Mitchell  observatory,  Cincinnati.  The 
instruments  were  so  excellent  and  the  terms  of  sale  were  so 
reasonable,  that  prominent  citizens  of  Ripon  thought  they 
should  be  secured  for  the  college,  and  offered  liberal  sums 
towards  their  purchase.  It  was  decided,  while  making  a 
house  for  these  instruments,  to  build  for  the  laboratory  also, 
and  the  result  was  the  laboratory  and  transit  building  as  it 
now  stands,  together  with  the  equipment  for  both  branches 
of  the  work.  The  laboratory  form  of  instruction  began 
with  the  completion  of  this  building,  under  the  direction  of 
Professor  A.  H.  Sabin,  a  large  invoice  of  material  having 
been  purchased  for  him  in  Germany.  Before  this  time 
chemistry  had  been  taught  on  the  old  lecture  and  text  book 
plan.  The  money  for  this  improvement  was  subscribed  by 
friends  in  Ripon  and  other  neigliboring  towns. 

In  1887  the  income  of  the  college  was  found  to  be  less 
than  the  necessary  expenses,  and  on  December  3d  of  that 
year  a  plan  was  adopted  to  secure  one  hundred  pledges  of 
^125  each  to  aid  in  payment  of  current  bills.  These  pledges 
were  made  payable  in  installments  of  $25  each,  one  payment 
a  year  for  five  years.  Each  subscriber  was  permitted  to 
send  to  the  college  a  student  free  of  tuition  during  the  five 
years.  The  pledges  were  all  secured,  and  yielded  the  sum 
of  $2,500  a  year  in  a  time  when  tlie  aid  from  it  was  essential 
to  the  safety  of  the  college.  The  credit  of  suggesting  and 
promoting  this  plan  is  largely  due  to  Mr.  Willard  Merrill,  of 
Milwaukee. 

An  event  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  the  college  was 
the  offer  of  Mrs.  Valeria  G.  Stone,  of  Maiden,  Mass.,  in  the 
year  1880,  of  $20,000  for  the  endowment  fund,  to  be  paid 
when  her  gift  should  make  the  fund  $125,000  in  all.  In 
order  to  meet  the  terms  of  this  pledge,  there  w^as  needed  on 
December  6th  of  that  year  about  $28,000.  This  sum  was 
raised  during  the  following  year  and  the  full  sum  paid  in  to 
the  endowment.  Out  of  gratitude  to  Dr.  Wilham  H. 
Willcox,  of  Maiden,  Mass.,  a  nephew  of  Mrs.  Stone,  and  a 
constant  adviser  of  the  distribution  of  her  great  wealth  in 
beneficence,  the  board,  with  the  approbation  of  Mrs.  Stone, 
named  the  Greek  chair  for  him,  the  William  H.  Willcox 
professorship.     These  additions  to  the  endowment  made  it 


176  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

possible  to  go  on  under  the  old  law,  to  operate  the  college 
on  its  earnings. 

The  year  1880  found  the  college  in  great  need  of  more 
room  for  various  purposes.  The  library  was  crowded  into  a 
corner  in  West  college,  in  which  room  also  the  faculty  held 
their  meetings;  the  treasurer  had  no  proper  office;  the 
chapel  was  overcrowded  and  generally  unfit  for  its  purposes  ; 
and  there  were  no  suitable  rooms  for  the  museum  and  for 
the  college  literary  societies.  The  old  East  college  had  served 
its  day.  Nothing  about  the  college  in  its  early  days  is  more 
vividly  remembered,  and  oftener  referred  to  in  mirth,  than 
the  great  windows,  set  thick  in  its  four  sides,  with  their  little 
six  by  eight  panes  of  glass.  But  the  windows  were  no  more 
behind  the  times  and  need  than  the  rest  ot  the  building.  A 
plan  was  adopted  in  June,  1880,  to  rebuild  it  entire,  but  the 
work  was  postponed  on  account  of  the  occurrence  of  Mrs. 
Stone's  offer  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  In  the  summer  of 
1882,  however,  the  reconstruction  was  begun,  and  the  chapel 
portion  was  ready  for  use  by  the  following  January.  The 
entire  building  was  completed  in  the  first  half  of  the  follow- 
ing year — the  comely  structure  as  it  now  stands.  Nothing 
but  the  bare  walls  and  a  portion  of  the  timbers  of  the  old 
building  was  retained,  but  these  in  some  measure  satisfy 
the  sentiment  of  reverence  for  that  on  which  the  fathers 
wrought.  The  changes  by  which  the  entire  second  floor  of 
the  building,  before  used  for  the  library  and  reading  room, 
was  made  into  the  fine  suite  for  the  school  of  music,  were  not 
made  till  the  year  1891.  The  money  for  all  these  improve- 
ments to  the  building,  about  $10,000,  was  given  in  response 
to  the  solicitations  ot  the  president  among  friends  in  the  East 
and  the  West. 

Mrs.  Helen  C.  Knowles,  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  died  in 
November,  1884,  leaving  a  conditional  legacy  to  Ripon  col- 
lege. By  the  terms  of  her  will  the  college  was  to  receive 
$10,000  towards  the  endowment  of  the  president's  chair,  pro- 
vided that  within  two  years  from  the  date  of  her  decease  the 
friends  of  the  college  should  contribute  ^10,000  more  to  be 
used  for  the  same  purpose.  The  money  was  raised  within 
the  time  specified,  and  the  $20,000,  by  action  of  the  board, 
was  named  the  Knowles  endowment  of  the  president's 
chair. 

Before  the  money  was  fully  secured  to  meet  the  terms 
of  the  will  of  Mrs.  Knowles,  a  plan  was  adopted  to  raise 
$25,000  by  the  sale  of  low-priced  scholarships.     This  plan 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  177 

was  adopted  September  28, 1885,  and  embraced  the  following 
chief  particulars: 

1.  It  is  proposed  to  issue  one  thousand  scholarships,  to 
be  sold  at  $25  each. 

2.  Each  scholarship  to  secure  "tuition"  for  any  twelve 
terms  of  instruction  within  eight  years  Irom  the  date  of  issue, 
and  to  be  good  for  any  person  presenting  it ;  except 

3.  That  scholarships  non-transferable,  and  to  be  used 
only  by  the  persons  named  in  them,  shall  be  good  for  tlie 
tuition  of  twelve  terms  if  used  within  twenty  years  from 
date  of  issue. 

4.  Scholarships  to  be  issued  when  the  one  thousand  are 
subscribed  for  in  trustworthy  subscriptions,  and  the  entire 
proceeds  of  the  sale  of  them  to  go  to  the  general  endowment 
fund,  the  interest  only  to  be  paid  for  instruction. 

The  work  of  securing  the  subscriptions  was  done  by  the 
president,  assisted  by  the  Rev.  I.  N.  Cundall  and  Mr.  P.  D. 
McAssey,  and  was  successful,  though  the  last  one-fourth  of 
the  certificates  were  taken  by  a  syndicate  ot  gentlemen  who 
were  to  hold  them  till  they  could  be  resold.  Of  the  $25,000 
subscribed  on  this  movement,  about  $7,000  was  pledged 
by  citizens  of  Ripon  and  vicinity.  Students  began  to  be  re- 
ceived on  these  scholarships  at  the  opening  of  the  school  in 
September,  1886,  and  the  large  majority  of  the  students  have 
been  admitted  on  them  up  to  the  present  time.  It  was  un- 
derstood that  the  income  from  the  $25,000  would  yield  to 
the  college  a  revenue  as  large  as  would  be  received  from 
tuitions  without  the  plan,  and  then  when  the  scholarships 
should  be  used  or  void  by  lapse  of  time,  the  college  would 
still  have  the  revenue  from  this  permanent  fund. 

The  need  of  room  for  a  biological  laboratory  and  of  a 
better  buildmg  for  the  women  students  pressed  upon  the 
faculty  heavily  in  these  years  from  1880  to  1887;  and  in 
April,  1887,  steps  were  taken  towards  erecting  a  cottage  for 
young  women  and  towards  reconstructing  Middle  college, 
hitherto  used  as  a  dormitory  for  the  lady  students,  so  as  to 
provide  for  the  laboratories,  for  art  rooms  and  for  dormitory 
rooms  for  college  men.  On  June  28,  1887,  the  plans  of  the 
present  Bartlett  cottage  were  adopted,  and  tlie  buiHing  com- 
mittee was  authorized  to  proceed  with  its  erection  so  soon  as 
money  sufficient  to  enclose  it  should  be  subscribed.  The 
committee  was  able  to  begin  the  building  by  the  first  of 
August,  and  the  roof  was  on  before  winter.  In  the  following 
spring  and  summer  it  was  completed  so  as  to  be  ready  for  oc- 


178  EIPON   COLLEGE. 

cupancy  by  the  opening  of  the  fall  term  of  the  school  year. 
The  treasurer  had  been  authorized  in  April  to  borrow  the 
money  needed  for  the  completion  of  the  work,  and  the 
board  were  not  without  apprehension  that  the  college  would 
be  left  heavily  in  debt  when  the  cottage  should  be  finished 
and  furnished,  and  the  changes  should  be  made  in  Middle 
college  and  the  laboratories  equipped.  But  in  God's  good 
providence  a  friend  came  to  the  need.  Mrs.  Lucy  Bartlett, 
of  Oshkosh,  already  a  large  subscriber  to  the  building  fund, 
and  the  benefactor  who  had  founded  the  Bartlett  schol- 
arship, offered  to  the  board  $6,000  more  to  pay  last  bills 
on  the  new  cottage.  In  consideration  of  the  payment  of 
this  pledge,  it  was  stipulated  that  the  new  building,  at  pres- 
ent the  finest  one  on  the  college  campus,  should  forever  bear 
the  name  of  Bartlett  cottage,  in  honor  of  her  husband, 
Sumner  Bartlett,  deceased,  and  of  the  family  of  which  he 
was  the  honored  head.  The  new  laboratories,  with  their 
equipment,  and  the  art  rooms  were  ready  for  use  in  Septem- 
ber of  this  year,  1888. 

The  Dawes  cottage  was  secured  to  the  college  and 
opened  for  occupancy  in  the  autumn  of  1887.  It  was  the 
gift  of  William  Dawes,  Esq.,  of  Milwaukee.  Since  its  open- 
ing for  students  it  has  been  enlarged  and  refitted,  and  now  has 
rooms  for  fourteen  women  students,  besides  the  parlor, 
dining-room,  kitchen,  and  so  forth.  It  is  managed  accord- 
ing to  a  favorite  plan  suggested  by  Mr.  Dawes,  and  for 
which  he  made  this  provision,  as  a  Christian  family,  the 
young  lady  students  performing,  by  turns  in  order,  all  the 
domestic  service.  On  this  plan  the  cost  for  board  is  about 
one  dollar  a  week. 

In  May,  1888,  the  grounds  for  athletic  sports  were 
purchased,  about  eighteen  acres  in  extent.  The  movement 
to  secure  these  grounds  was  instituted  by  an  alumnus,  Mr. 
John  G.  Ingalls.  In  view  of  this  fact,  the  board  at  its 
annual  meeting  in  June,  1889,  passed  the  following  resolu- 
tion :  "  That  the  grounds  purchased  for  athletic  sports  be 
called  Ingalls  park,  in  honor  of  Mr.  .John  G.  Ingalls,  who 
initiated  the  move  to  secure  the  grounds,  and  who  has  con- 
tributed liberally  and  worked  earnestly  for  the  funds  needed 
to  pay  for  them  and  improve  them." 

The  title  of  the  grounds  is  in  the  college,  but  they  are 
controlled  by  a  board  consisting  of  the  treasurer  of  the  col- 
college,  the  secretary  of  the  faculty  and  the  president  of  the 
athletic  association — all  ex-officio.  A  grand  stand  has  been 
built  upon  them  and   other  excellent  improvements   have 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  179 

been  made,  so  that  they  are  now  regarded  as  equal  to  any  in 
the  state  for  their  purposes.  The  athletic  association  is 
strong  and  has  already  made  a  splendid  record. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  board,  in  July,  1890,  a  move- 
ment was  made  to  secure  $10,000  to  extinguish  debts  that 
had  accrued  on  current  account.  The  lowering  of  rates  of 
interest  and  the  inability  to  make  prompt  interest  collections 
on  portions  of  the  investments,  had  brought  a  temporary 
distress.  The  $10,000  was  pledged  within  a  year,  greatly  to 
the  relief  of  the  college. 

The  mention  of  these  improvements  secured  in  the  fif- 
teen years  previous  to  1891,  indicates  that  the  college  was 
making  a  steady  advance,  as  it  was.  That  it  accomplished 
all  that  seemed  possible  and  desirable  cannot,  however,  be 
maintained.  In  the  last  half  of  tlie  period  its  work  was 
much  obstructed  by  doctrinal  and  other  controversies.  To 
assume  that  these  controversies  had  no  influence  to  limit  the 
growth  of  the  college  would  be  untrue ;  to  discuss  them  at 
length  would  be  entirely  out  of  place  in  this  sketch ;  but  to 
ignore  them  wholly  would  be  affectation.  The  judgment  of 
the  board  in  regard  to  the  gravity  of  the  case,  as  well  as  in 
respect  to  the  place  of  religion  in  connection  with  the  build- 
ing and  conduct  of  the  college,  can  be  sufficiently  gathered 
from  an  extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  meeting  of  January 
21, 1889.   The  following  minute  was  adopted  unanimously: — 

"  The  board  of  trustees  of  Ripon  college,  having  given  care- 
ful and  extended  consideration  to  the  subject  of  the  religious 
needs  of  our  work,  record  their  agreement  and  purposes  as 
follows  : — 

"1.  While  the  college  has  not  been  and  is  not  intended 
to  be  in  any  sense  sectarian,  it  was  the  thought  of  the  founders 
and  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  board,  that  it  be  distinctively 
and  permanently  Christian. 

"  2.  By  this  it  is  intended,  that  instruction  in  the  college 
shall  recognize  and  be  coincident  with  the  principles  of  inspired 
truth,  as  revealed  in  the  Christian  Scriptures,  and  interpreted 
in  the  historical  thought  and  expressed  in  the  best  life  of  the 
so-called  orthodox  churches ;  that  this  truth  shall  give  to  the 
entire  work  its  fundamental  aims ;  that  the  evangelical  spirit, 
which  is  the  proper  fruit  of  the  embracing  of  the  truth,  permeate 
the  life  of  the  college ;  and  that  the  Bible  shall  be  a  text  book 
never  to  be  displaced  or  neglected. 

''  3.  Assent  to  these  propositions  as  fundamental,  implies  a 
duty  which  is  cardinal  and  imperative,  to  protect  the  college 
against  error,  to  establish  and  maintain  suitable  religious  in- 
struction, and  to  see  that  appropriate  means  are  employed  in 
various  ways  to  bring  the  thought  of  the  students  into  the  light 


180  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

of  a  true  Christian  intelligence,  and  under  the  constraint  of  the 
Christian  motives. 

"4.  In  view  of  these  facts  and  principles,  and  believing 
that  the  time  in  the  history  of  the  college  has  come  for  better 
provision  for  making  these  principles  effective  in  our  practical 
work,  it  is  resolved  : 

"I.  So  soon  as  the  funds  of  the  college  will  allow,  to 
appoint  a  professor  of  Biblical  theology,  whose  duty  shall  be  in 
general  to  teach  the  Scriptures,  and  supervise  the  Biblical  in- 
struction of  other  teachers  in  all  departments,  and  to  assume 
the  office  of  college  pastor  and  preacher. 

"  II.  Until  such  professor  shall  be  appointed,  in  addition 
to  the  means  for  religious  instruction  and  work  now  employed, 
to  direct  that  public  Sunday  services  with  preaching  and  suitable 
worship  be  instituted  in  the  college  chapel,  to  be  under  the 
direction  of  the  president  and  such  professors  as  he  may  be  able 
to  call  to  his  assistance. 

"III.  For  the  successful  promotion  of  these  services  and 
the  best  interests  of  the  students,  and  the  encouragement  of 
good  order,  that  we  recommend  the  formation  of  a  church,  to 
membership  in  which  officers  of  the  college,  students  and  citi- 
zens of  Ripon  be  invited,  and  that  attendance  on  the  part  of  all 
students  be  required,  except  when  excused  for  proper  reasons." 

The  funds  of  the  c»»Ilege  have  not  warranted  the  ex- 
pense of  the  professorship  contemplated  ;  and  after  extended 
deliberations  and  conferences,  the  formation  of  the  new 
church,  the  time  of  which  tlie  board  left  with  the  executive 
committee,  was  indefinitely  postponed. 

No  quorum  of  the  board  was  present  at  the  time  lor  the 
annual  meeting  in  June,  1891,  but  President  Merrell  an- 
nounced to  the  board  and  publicly  that  lie  intended  to  present 
his  resignation  of  the  office  of  president  as  soon  as  the  board 
could  meet  to  receive  it.  The  board  met  in  Milwaukee  on 
tlie  21st  of  the  next  month,  when  the  resignation  was  pre- 
sented and  accepted,  the  chair  ot  mental  and  moral  philos- 
ophy being  still  retained. 

On  September  '20th,  of  this  year,  1891,  the  Hon.  Ed- 
ward D.  Holton,  of  Milwaukee,  deeded  to  the  college  a 
valuable  piece  of  real  estate  lying  in  the  city  of  Milwaukee; 
the  deed,  however,  being  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  trustee,  to 
be  passed  over  to  the  trustees  of  the  college  if  within  one 
year  $50,000  additional  should  be  pledged  To  the  endowment 
funds  of  the  institution.  This  sum  was  secured,  chiefly  in 
pledges  given  in  response  to  the  solicitations  of  the  new  pres- 
dent,  Dr.  Rufus  C.  Flagg.  When  this  realty  is  sold,  it  is 
expected  that  the  total  of  the  Holton  endowment  will  amount 
to  about  $80,000. 


KIPON   COLLEGE.  181 

On  February  16th,  1892,  tlie  board,  by  a  unanimous  and 
hearty  vote,  elected  the  Rev.  Rufus  C.  Flngg,  D.  D.,  then 
pastor  ol  tlie  Congregational  church  at  Wells  River,  Vt., 
president,  and  he  began  work  witii  the  college  at  the  opening 
of  the  spring  term  in  that  year.  Dr.  Flagg  is  a  graduate  of 
Middlebury  college,  and  ot  Andover  theological  seminary, 
and  is  a  man  ot  scholarly  attainments,  breadth  of  judg- 
ment, and  conciliatory  temper.  He  has  been  received  with 
great  heartiness  by  all  members  of  the  taculty  and  by  the 
students  and  friends  of  the  college,  and  his  administration 
gives  promise  of  great  prosperity. 

CHARACTERISTICS. 

Since  the  beginning  of  college  work  in  1863,  the  institu- 
tion has  exhibited  well-defined  characterisiics,  some  of  them 
perhaps  distinctive.  As  in  the  best  American  colleges,  the 
center  of  interest  and  effort  has  been  at  the  courses  of  study. 
The  able  men  and  women  who  have  from  the  beginning 
been  the  members  of  the  faculty,  have  V)een  agreed  in  the 
thought  that  scholarship,  intellectual  life,  according  to  the 
best  conceptions  of  college  men  in  all  time,  should  be  the 
central  concern  of  young  men  and  women  while  pursuing 
their  courses.  They  have  agreed  also,  that  when  a  degree  is 
conferred,  the  recipient  of  it  should  l>e  a  man  or  woman  edu- 
cated up  to  the  standard  college  grade.  And  the  scholarship 
a!id  intellectual  life  have  been  constanth'^  directed  according  to 
the  liberal  aim,  that  is,  with  man  tor  its  end.  They  have 
been  practical,  but  have  discarded  "that  practicalnes^s  that 
would  take  from  man  to  add  to  his  possessions." 

But  while  the  first  concern  of  the  college  has  been  its 
intellectual  life,  there  is  a  sense  in  which  this  even  has  been 
second.  "  While  aiming  at  the  best  results  of  intellectual 
training,  its  instructors  bear  in  mind  that  character  is  more 
than  these,  that  the  development  of  character  is  an  essential 
part  of  the  work  of  an  educational  institution,  and  that  there 
is  no  sound  basis  of  character  except  in  Cnristian  principle." 
So  that  while  intellectual  life  is  the  immediate  aim,  all  this, 
by  pervading  every  form  of  the  work  with  a  moral  and  relig- 
ious intelligence  and  influence,  is  shown  to  be  subservient  to 
the  cross  of  Christ,  and  to  the  personal  appropriation  of  the 
grace  of  Christ  by  the  individual  student.  Our  students  have 
pretty  uniformly  borne  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  college 
has  given  them  nothing  more  valuable  than  the  religious 
aims  and  impulses  which  they  have  so  clearly  and  lully 
received.  The  Spirit  fias  again  and  again  descended  in  re- 
viving  and    converting  power,  and    under  the  impressions 


182  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

received  here  those  purposes  have  been  formed  which  have 
led  large  numbers  into  the  ministerial,  the  missionary  and 
other  forms  of  Christian  service. 

For  the  promotion  of  the  religious  work  Christian  asso- 
ciations have  been  formed,  which  have  been  well  maintained, 
and  a  religious  service  has  been  held  by  the  faculty  and  stu- 
dents together  on  Tuesday  evenings  for  the  last  thirty  years. 
These  meetings  have  often  been  intellectually  and  spiritually 
stimulating  in  a  very  high  degree,  and  old  students  have 
often  referred  to  them  as  among  the  most  helpful  advantages 
of  their  college  life.  For  many  years  a  weekly  lecture  was 
delivered  on  Friday  afternoons  to  the  whole  body  of  students, 
and  this,  especially  in  President  Merriman's  time,  afforded 
some  of  the  finest  results  of  moral  and  spiritual  address. 

ALUMNI. 

The  whole  number  of  graduates  from  the  various 
courses  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-four,  of  whom  one  hun- 
dred and  two  were  men  and  sixty-two  were  women.  The 
smallest  number  in  any  one  class  has  been  three,  and  the 
largest  number  fifteen.  Of  these  graduates,  twenty-eight 
have  become  ministers,  nine  foreign  missionaries,  six  physi- 
cians, twenty-five  lawyers,  twenty-nine  business  men,  thirty- 
two  teachers,  and  twenty-four  women  graduates  have  mar- 
ried. Several  of  the  younger  graduates  are  now  in  profes- 
sional schools.  But  besides  those  who  have  completed  the 
full  courses  of  study,  a  very  large  number  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  various  departments  of  the  college,  and  have 
here  received  their  intellectual  fitting  and  moral  training  for 
lives  of  wide  usefulness.  The  students  in  the  regular  college 
classes  have  in  the  average  been  less  than  one-fourth  of  the 
total  number  enrolled,  and  the  work  for  the  larger  number 
who  have  studied  for  a  time,  and  often  irregularly,  has  been 
a  contribution  to  the  world  of  inestimable  value.  The 
smallest  catalogue  enrollment  for  any  one  year  was  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty,  in  1864-5 ;  the  largest  number  was  three 
hundred  and  seventy-one,  in  1872-3.  About  this  time  the 
influence  of  the  state  normal  schools,  particularly  that  at 
Oshkosh,  began  to  be  felt  in  diminishing  the  number  of 
students.  In  1876-7  the  number  of  students  was  three 
hundred  and  one,  and  from  that  time  to  1886-7  it  was  less 
than  three  hundred  annually.  In  1887-8  the  enrollment 
reached  three  hundred  and  twenty-five,  under  the  impulse 
given  by  the  issuing  of  scholarships. 


RIPON   COLLEGE. 


183 


DEPARTMENTS  AND  INSTRUCTORS. 
THE  COLLEGE. 


Departments. 


Mental  and  Moral 
Science. 


Names. 


William  E.  Merriman. 
Edward  H.  Merrell 


Dates. 

1863-76 
1876 


Social  Science. 


Rufus  C.  riagg. 


1892 


Greek. 


Edward  H.  Merrell... 

James  A.  Towle 

John  Bigbam 

AVilton  W .  Truesdale. 
William  A.  Eckels.... 


186.3-76 
1876-87 
1887-89 
1889-91 
1891 


Latin. 


William  H.  Ward 

Justus  N.  Brown 

William  M.  BristoU. 

John  P.  Haire 

Cyrus  G.  Baldwin 

Newton  S.  Fuller 


Natural  Sciences. 


Daniel  Merriman 

Lvman  B.  Sperry 

William  G.  Balla'ntine. 

Alvah  H.  Sabin 

Edwin  A.  Scribner 


Mathematics  and 
Astronomy. 


Oliver  Sloan 

Theodore  Wilder 

Erastus  C.  Beach 

Carlos  A.  Kenaston.... 
Stephen  M.  Newman. 
Charles  H.  Chandler.. 


Rhetoric  and  En- 
glish Literature. 


Joseph  M.  Geerv.. 
Albert  H.  Tolman. 


1864-66 
18()()-68 
1868-73 
1873-75 
187.5-84 
1884 


1865-67 
1870-73 
1874-76 
1876-80 
1880-81 


1864-65 
1866-70 
1870-72 
1872-81 
1881-83 
1881 


1868-85 
1884 


Rhetoric. 


M.  Montague. 


Chemistry  and 
Biology. 


C.  Dwight  Marsh. 


1865-66 


1883 


Chemistry  and 
Physics. 

Dynamics,  Elec- 
tricity. 


George  P.  Bacon 

William  S.  Leavenworth. 


Elisha  Gray., 


1888-89 
1889 


1881-83 


184 


RIPON   COLLEGE. 
THE  SCHOOL  OF   MUSIC. 


Departments. 


Names 


Piano  and  Theory. 


Miss  Augusta  Camp 

Mrs.  A.  A.  Davis 

Miss  E.  A.  Billings 

John  C.  Fillmore 

Lvman  F.  Brown 

Dwight  F.  Stillman , 

Miss  Cara  Farnsworth , 

Charles  A.  EUenberger 

Andrew  J.  Wells 

Edwin  H.  Pierce 

H.  AVilliam  Dubee 

Rossetter  G.  Cole 

Miss  Fannie  Louise  Gwinner. 


Dates. 


1862-&4 
1864-67 
1867-69 

1868-77 

1877-78 

1878-84 

1884-85 

1884-88 

188»-89 

1889-90 

1890-92 

1892 

1892 


Vocal  Culture. 


Miss  Camilla  M.  Xettleton. 

Miss  Louise  E.  Clark 

Miss  Eva  White 

Miss  Emma  J.  Ells 

Samuel  B.  EUenberger 

Miss  Hattie  S.  Thome 


1870-73 
1873-74 
1874-76 
1876-79 
J  884-87 
1888-90 


SCHOOL   OF    ART. 


Departments. 

Names. 

Dates. 

Emma  A.  Lee 

1864-«6 

Harriet  H.  Brown 

1866-67 

Drawing  and 

Irene  T.  Wilcox 

1878-84 

Painting. 

Annah  M.  Smith 

1884-85 

Efhe  Dawes 

1885-89 

Flora  E.  HockenhuU 

1889 

LADIES     DEPARTMENT. 


Departments. 

Names. 

Dates. 

Clarissa  T.  Tracv 

1862-71 

Martha  E.  French 

1871-72 

Kate  A.  Bushnell 

1872-74 

Minerva  B.  Norton 

1874-76 

Superintendents, 
Principals   and 

Clarissa  T.  Tracv 

1876-77 

Sarah  A  Barnes 

1877-78 

Preceptresses. 

Lucretia  H.  Kendall 

Marv  I.  Dana 

1878-84 
1884-86 

Fannie  Cundall 

1886-88 

Susie  E.  Cushman 

1889 

KIPON   COLLEGE.  185 

PRKPAHATOKY   SCHOOL  AND   ENGLISH   ACADEMY. 


Departments. 

Names. 

Dates. 

Edward  H.  Merrell 

1862-63 

Clarissa  T.  Tracv 

1859 

Julia  Hosford  Merrell 

1862-67 

Frances  E.  Woodrow 

1864-66 

Mrs.  L.  M.  Beach 

1865-66 

Luthera  H.  Adams 

186(>-76 

George  C.  Duffie 

1868-86 

Sarah  E.  Dorr 

1869-70 

Frances  E.  Wilder 

1868-71 

Herbert  G.  Denison 

1876-80 

Principals  and 
Instructors. 

Mrs.  Win.  M.  Bristoll 

1872-73 

Henrv  B.  Miter 

1875-«4 

Laura  W.  Ladd 

1878-79 

Josephine  F.  Krogman 

1882-85 

James  F.  Eaton 

1884-89 

Albion  E.  Smith 

1884-85 

Isaac  N.  Cundall 

1887-88 

Jennie  Wheeler 

1887-88 

Thekla  Eversz 

1887-88 

Harriet  P.  Fuller 

1889 

Susie  E.  Cushman 

1889 

Maud  L.  Merrell 

1891 

In  the  table  above  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  an 
exact  statement  of  departments.  These  have  been  frequently 
changed,  and  the  same  teacher  has  often  wrought  in  more 
than  one.  To  have  given  them  in  exact  detail  would  have 
required  an  amount  of  repetition  which,  for  the  present  pur- 
pose, seemed  needless. 

SPECIAL  FUNDS. 

The  college  has  a  few  funds  contributed  for  special  ob- 
jects.    Their  names  and  objects  are  as  follows : — 

THE  RUFUS  DODGE  FUND. 

The  late  Rufus  Dodge,  of  Beaver  Dam,  left  the  college 
a  legacy  of  $9,000  as  a  permanent  fund  to  aid  young  ladies 
of  limited  means  in  getting  their  education.  The  interest  of 
this  fund  is  annually  distributed  for  this  purpose  among  such 
students,  according  to  their  need. 

THE  JAMES  FUND. 

This  is  a  fund  of  $1,500,  given  by  Mrs.  John  W.  James, 
of  Boston,  the  income  from  which  is  distributed  annually  in 
prizes  for  the  encouragement  of  excellence  in  English  com- 
position. 


186  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

THE  LEWIS  PRIZE. 

This  prize  was  established  by  Hon.  J.  T.  Lewis,  of 
Columbus,  The  annual  income  of  a  fund  of  $200  has  been 
presented  to  that  student  in  the  college  who,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  faculty,  has  made  the  greatest  mental  improvement 
during  the  preceding  year. 

THE  KNOWLES  ENDOWMENT  FUND. 

This  consists  of  S20,000,  the  income  to  be  used  towards 
payment  of  the  president's  salary.  It  is  named  for  Mrs. 
Helen  C.  Knowles,  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  who  gave  $10,000 
towards  it. 

THE  SUMNER  BARTLETT  FUND. 

This  is  a  fund  of  $1,000,  founded  by  Mrs.  Lucy  Bartlett, 
of  Oshkosh,  the  income  from  which  is  to  pay  the  tuition  of 
one  student  at  a  time,  who  is  a  candidate  for  the  gospel 
ministry  or  for  missionary  service. 

THE  DAVID  WHITCOMB  FUND. 

This  fund  of  $1,000  was  given  by  the  gentleman  whose 
name  it  bears,  and  the  income  from  it  is  used  yearly  in  aid 
of  needy  and  worthy  students. 

THE  COOK  SCHOLARSHIP. 

This  was  founded  by  the  Rev.  E.  W.  Cook,  a  gift  of  $500, 
to  be  a  perpetual  scholarship  giving  tuition  to  one  student  at 
a  time. 

COURSES  OF  STUDY. 

The  college  offers  three  liberal  courses  of  study,  the 
classical,  the  scientific,  and  the  literary,  whose  characteristics 
are  sufficiently  indicated  by  their  names.  They  are  open  to 
students  of  both  sexes,  and  students  of  both  sexes  are  in- 
structed in  the  same  classes.  Each  of  these  courses  provides 
for  a  liberal  number  of  elective  studies.  Besides  these 
college  courses,  others  are  arranged  for  students  in  music 
and  for  those  fitting  for  college  or  for  practical  work  in  life. 
The  standard  of  American  colleges  is  fully  maintained. 

GROWTH,  POSITION,  AND   NEEDS. 

Since  the  institution  was  organized  for  college  work, 
thirty  years  ago,  it  has  had  a  healthy  growth  and  made  a 
steady  advance.  Old  debts  have  been  paid  ;  an  endowment 
has  been  gathered  sufficiently  large  to  make  it  possible  on 
the  present  scale  of  expenditure  to  meet  current  liabilities 


RIPON   COLLEGE.  187 

from  the  annual  income ;  four  buildings  have  been  added 
to  the  two  existing  in  1863,  making  six  in  all;  a  library  of 
ten  thousand  volumes,  a  respectable  mineralogical  cabinet,  a 
botanical  cabinet,  and  considerable  apparatus  for  illustration 
and  laboratory  work  in  chemistry  and  biology,  have  been 
gathered ;  a  full  faculty  has  been  organized  whose  work 
covers  the  ordinary  departments  of  college  instruction  ;  and, 
best  of  all,  a  very  large  number  of  young  men  and  women, 
graduates  and  others,  have  here  received  the  intellectual 
discipline,  moral  training,  dignified  aims,  and  spiritual 
impulses,  that  have  fitted  them  for  noble  service  in  the  world. 
They  are  to-day  a  great  multitude  and  constitute  a  tower  of 
strength  to  the  college. 

But  the  triumphs  of  the  past  do  not  remove,  but  only 
add  to  the  weight  of  responsibility  for  the  present  and  the 
future.  If  the  thought  of  the  founders  was  wise,  and  the 
sacrifices  of  those  who  have  carried  this  work  to  its  present 
advancement  have  not  been  mistaken  and  wasteful,  then 
surely  we  are  not  likely  to  overestimate  the  importance  of 
the  college  to  the  field  which  is  properly  its  own.  To  con- 
sent to  inferiority  in  equipment  and  work  is  to  fail  gravely 
in  duty.  The  following  points  obtrude  themselves  upon 
our  attention  as  clearly  involved  in  our  case : — 

We  are  building  the  college  in  a  time  of  general  revival 
of  intellectual  activit}'^,  when  all  men  are  thinking  for  them- 
selves, and  systems  of  knowledge  are  unsettling  and  becom- 
ing formed  anew. 

A  result  of  this  awakening  demands  not  only  the  great- 
est fertility  of  thought  on  the  part  of  those  who  assume  to 
be  leaders,  but  also  economy  of  thought  by  the  multiplica- 
tion of  special  departments. 

To  meet  these  demands,,  sums  of  money  of  unprece- 
dented magnitude  are  being  devoted  to  educational  and 
special  work. 

Hence  an  equipment  for  a  college  that  would  have  been 
considered  ample  fifty  or  even  twenty-five  years  ago,  our 
young  people  pass  by  as  wholly  inadequate. 

Our  need  is  enlarged  by  the  fact  that  we  aim  to  support 
not  only  the  intellectual  but  also  the  Christian  ends  in  edu- 
cation ;  for  to  cover  this  wider  range  properly  requires  not 
only  a  greater  breadth  of  instruction,  but  also  a  thorough- 
ness in  general  work  that  shall  secure  respect  for  the  educa- 
tion which  includes  the  idea  of  Christian  character. 


188  RIPON   COLLEGE. 

Besides  the  breadth  of  the  work,  it  is  true  also  that  a 
vast  territory  is  naturally  tributary  to  the  college. 

We  have  accepted  the  responsibility  of  occupying  this 
field,  and  the  college  confronts  the  high  duty  of  filling  ade- 
quately and  well  the  large  place  to  which  every  consideration 
in  the  nature  of  the  case  urges  it.  All  these  considerations 
urge  the  importance,  and  open  to  the  friends  of  Christian 
education  the  privilege,  of  aiding  Ripon  college  in  this  work. 

Edward  H.  Merrell. 


M  ^^, 


president  mm.  C.  Mbitforb,  2)»  D. 

William  Clark  Whitford  was  born  ^Nlay  5,  1828,  in  Ednies- 
ton,  Otsego  county,  N.  Y.  He  graduated  from  Union  college  in 
1858,  and  from  Union  theological  seminary  in  185B,  coming  to 
Wisconsin  the  same  year,  as  pastor  of  the  Seventh  Day  Ba}>tist 
church  in  Milton. 

He  had  been  temporarily  connected  with  Milton  academy 
in  1850  as  co-principal.  He  re-entered  its  faculty  in  1856,  and 
became  sole  principal  in  1858.  When  the  academy  became  a 
college,  in  1867,  he  was  elected  its  president,  and  has  thus  been 
the  head  of  that  institution  for  over  a  third  of  a  century. 

He  was  president  of  the  state  teachers'  association  in  1865. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  regents  of  normal  schools 
from  1867  to  1875,  and  again  from  1878  to  1882,  and  was  always 
a  generous  and  intelligent  friend  of  these  schools.  In  1868,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  state  assembly.  In  January,  1878,  he  be- 
came state  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  holding  the 
office  for  four  years.  During  his  administration  lie  gave  nmch 
attention  to  the  interests  of  the  country  schools,  and  progress 
was  made  toward  the  grading  and  systematizing  of  their  work. 
He  also  took  important  steps  towards  the  improvement  of 
country  school  houses.  For  some  years  past  he  has  held  the 
position  of  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Seventh-Day  Baptist 
education  society. 

Mr.  Whitford 's  service  to  the  cause  of  education,  both 
public  and  jirivate,  has  thus  run  parallel  with  almost  the  whole 
history  of  Wisconsin  as  a  state  ;  and  not  the  least  of  his  services 
is  found  in  his  enthusiastic  interest  in  the  early  history  and 
development  of  the  state.  His  "  History  of  Education  in  Wis- 
consin," prepared  for  the  Centennial  exposition,  is  a  work  of 
permanent  value. 

But  his  greatest  and  most  enduring  work  lies  in  the  per- 
sonal impress  which  he  has  left  upon  the  thousands  of  yovmg 
men  and  women  who  have  passed  under  his  hand.  His  large, 
sympathetic  nature,  his  high  ideals,  his  untiring  industry  and 
unquenchable  enthusiasm,  and,  above  all,  his  own  life  of  stead- 
fast self-sacrifice,  have  made  him  a  source  of  inspiration  to  all 
who  iiave  come  within  his  circle  as  a  teacher. 

A.  S. 


Historical  Sketch  of  Milton  College. 


A  select  school,  with  academic  privileges,  was  opened 
early  in  December,  1844,  in  the  village  of  Milton,  Rock 
county,  Wisconsin.  To  accommodate  its  classes  at  their 
recitations,  a  small  gravel  building,  with  only  a  single  room, 
costing  about  $300.00,  was  erected  during  the  summer  and 
fall  previous.  This  enterprise  had  its  origin  in  the  foresight 
and  generosity  of  Honorable  Joseph  Goodrich,  the  founder 
of  the  village,  and  was  managed  almost  solely  by  him  for  a 
number  of  years.  It  was  from  the  first  called  Milton  academy. 
Then  there  were  but  four  dwelling  houses  in  the  place  and  the 
surrounding  country  was  sparsely  settled.  Four  other  feeble 
institutions  of  the  same  character  had  been  established  in  the 
state,  at  Kenosha,  Waukesha,  Beloit  and  Platteville.  Two  of 
these,  the  first  and  the  third,  shortly  afterwards  suspended 
operations. 

The  school  at  Milton  was  designed  to  aid  both  young  men 
and  young  women  in  the  immediate  vicinity  to  acquire  such 
a  higher  education  as  many  of  them  could  have  received  in 
the  communities  from  which  they  had  immigrated  in  the  East. 
Besides  preparing  some  of  its  students  to  enter  college,  it 
endeavored  to  qualify  others  to  engage  at  once  in  the  ordi- 
nary business  pursuits,  or  to  teach  in  the  public  schools  of 
the  state.  In  all  three  of  these  purposes,  it  has  been  more 
than  ordinarily  successful  from  the  beginning. 

Two  teachers,  Rev.  Bethael  C.  Church,  from  Michigan, 
and  Rev.  S.  S.  Bicknell,  a  graduate  of  Dartmouth  college, 
had  each  the  entire  charge  of  the  school  up  to  the  summer 
of  1848.  The  usual  attendance  of  the  students  per  year  had 
been  about  seventy,  two-thirds  of  whom  were  young  men. 
The  tuition  was  $3.00  per  term  of  eleven  weeks,  and  the 
board  in  private  families  $1.00  to  $1.50  per  week.  A  debat- 
ing society,  some  of  whose  members  were  citizens  of  the 
place,  was  formed  in  connection  with  the  school,  and  was 
most  energetically  sustained.  The  latter  named  teacher 
stated  that  •"  his  pupils  used  most  diligently  the  means  neces- 
sary to  acquire  the  advantages  of  an  education." 

189 


190  MILTON   COLLEGE. 

The  territory  of  Wisconsin  granted,  February  28,  1848, 
a  charter  to  the  institution,  called  it  "  Du  Lac  academy  " — a 
title  which  was  never  popularly  used — and  placed  it  under 
the  control  of  seven  trustees,  all  residing  in  the  town.  Each 
of  these  became  responsible  to  meet  any  deficits  in  the  wages 
of  the  teacher.  Instruction  was  not  to  be  furnished  on  either 
the  seventh  or  the  first  day  of  the  week,  as  both  the  man- 
agers and  the  patrons  of  the  school  observed  one  or  the  other 
of  these  days  as  a  Sabbath.  The  building  was  engaged  with 
the  rent  free,  provided  the  principal  hired  should  be  a  col- 
lege graduate.  In  the  winter  succeeding,  Jonathan  Alien, 
from  Oberlin  college,  subsequently  president  of  Alfred  univer- 
sity, was  employed  ;  and  for  the  next  two  years  Rev.  Amos 
W.  Coon,  from  the  latter  institution,  was  in  charge.  He  was 
assisted  a  part  of  the  time  by  P.  P.  Livermore,  from  the  same 
university,  and  another  part  by  W.  0.  Whitford,  from  Union 
college.  Students  were  attracted  to  the  academy  from  local- 
ities at  a  distance,  and  the  attendance  per  year  was  raised 
to  over  a  hundred.  As  an  example  of  the  public  work  which 
was  then  occasionally  performed  by  the  students,  their  exer- 
cises at  the  close  of  the  year,  July  4,  1849,  will  be  noticed. 
The  day  was  occupied  from  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  till 
four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  with  an  intermission  of  an 
hour  and  a  half  for  dinner.  Appropriate  music  was  sung, 
thirty-six  original  essays  read,  and  three  well  written  orations 
delivered.  One  of  the  last  was  furnished  by  Honorable  L. 
B.  Caswell,  of  this  state,  since  a  representative  in  Congress 
for  several  sessions,  who  chose  for  his  theme,  "  American 
Independence." 

In  1851  Colonel  George  R.  Clarke,  formerly  a  student  of 
Beloit  college,  and  afterwards  a  distinguished  evangelist  in 
Chicago,  acted  as  principal.  He  was  succeeded  by  A.  C. 
Spicer,  a  graduate  of  Union  college,  who  retained  the  super- 
vision of  the  school  most  of  the  time  the  next  seven 
years.  He  was  very  efficiently  aided  by  his  wife,  from  the 
celebrated  Troy  female  seminary.  In  this  time,  on  March 
31,  1854,  the  legislature  of  the  state  re-chartered  the  institu- 
tion under  the  old  name,  "Milton  academy."  A  new  board 
of  seven  trustees  was  chosen.  Albert  Whitford  was  added 
this  year  to  the  faculty,  teaching  the  Latin  and  Greek  lan- 
guages. He  is  a  graduate  of  Union  college,  and  has  since 
been  connected  with  the  institute  all  the  time,  except  two 
years  when  he  was  principal  of  DeRuyter  institute,  and  after- 
wards for  three  years   professor  of  mathematics  in  Alfred 


MILTON   COLLEGE.  191 

university.  He  has  for  a  long  time  conducted  the  same  de- 
partment in  which  he  is  now  engaged. 

In  1855  a  commodious  three-story  brick  building  was 
finished,  being  located  on  a  bluff  in  the  village,  and  the  cost 
of  it  was  defrayed  by  subscriptions  collected  mainly  from  the 
citizens  of  the  place. 

In  the  year  1856,  Rev.  M.  Montague,  a  Congregational 
clergyman,  instructed  the  classes  in  the  ancient  languages. 
He  afterwards  took  charge  of  the  Allen's  Grove  academy. 
During  1857  the  ladies  dormitory,  constructed  likewise  of 
cream  colored  brick,  was  erected  on  the  grounds  of  the  insti- 
tution. Professor  Spicer  resigned  at  the  close  of  the  spring 
term,  1858.  The  number  of  students  some  years  had  reached 
two  hundred  and  twelve ;  the  tuition  ranged  from  $4.00  to 
$5.00  for  the  English  studies,  and  from  $6.00  to  $7.00  for  the 
ancient  and  modern  languages,  the  higher  mathematics  and 
the  physical  sciences;  and  the  board  had  been  from  $1.50 
to  $2  per  week.  Three  lady  students  had  graduated  in  the 
teachers'  course.  Excellent  literary  societies  had  been  formed, 
and  these  became  permanent,  with  the  addition  of  another  a 
few  years  afterwards — making  three  in  all. 

Rev.  W.  C.  Whitford  was  elected  as  the  head  of  the  in- 
stitution at  the  opening  of  the  fall  term,  1858,  and  he  has 
remained  in  that  position  up  to  the  present  time.  He  had 
graduated  at  DeRuyter  institute.  Union  college  and  Union 
theological  seminary.  New  York,  and  was  then  pastor  of  the 
Seventh-day  Baptist  church  of  Milton.  Under  his  manage- 
ment the  school  was  conducted  as  a  high  grade  academy 
until  the  end  of  the  spring  term,  1867.  Students  were  fitted 
to  enter  the  junior  year  of  the  colleges  of  the  country.  Three 
courses  of  study  were  established  —  normal,  scientific  and 
classical — each  embracing  four  years  for  completion.  During 
this  period,  a  dormitory  building  for  gentlemen  was  provided. 
The  main  hall  was  enlarged  to  nearly  double  its  capacity  for 
recitation  purposes.  Heavy  debts  against  the  academy  were 
liquidated.  A  Christian  association  among  the  students  was 
organized,  and  has  since,  without  interruption,  continued  its 
admirable  work.  Thirty-nine  gentlemen  and  thirty-one  lady 
students  had  graduated  in  all  the  courses. 

The  normal  department  was  maintained  under  the  reg- 
ulations of  the  normal  regents  of  the  state.  In  1866  one 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  students  were  enrolled  in  this  depart- 
ment, and  eighty-one  of  them  taught  in  public  and  private 
schools.     In  each  of  the  seven  previous  years,  nearly  one 


192  MILTON   COLLEGE. 

hundred  teachers  were  thus  sent  out  to  their  work,  princi- 
pally in  this  state.  Considerable  aid  was  received  in  this 
time  from  the  normal  school  fund,  which  subsequently  was 
withdrawn  to  support  almost  exclusively  state  normal  schools. 
The  philosophical  and  chemical  apparatus  was  increased,  and 
the  botanical  and  geological  cabinets  greatly  enlarged.  An 
endowment  fund  was  started. 

At  every  call  for  volunteers  during  the  civil  war,  stu- 
dents were  mustered  into  the  service.  These  were  drilled  in 
the  manual  of  arms  in  the  chapel  and  on  the  grounds  of  the 
institution.  Of  the  graduates  and  the  other  students,  three 
hundred  and  twelve  entered  the  arm}',  and  forty-three  fell 
by  the  bullet  or  by  disease.  The  school  raised,  officered  and 
sent  into  the  service  two  companies,  and  parts  of  three  other 
companies,  all  belonging  to  Wisconsin  regiments.  Sixty-nine 
of  these  were  commissioned  for  positions  ranging  from  second 
lieutenant  to  brigadier-general. 

Among  the  assistant  teachers  were  the  following,  as  the 
leading  ones:  Albert  Whitford,  whose  labors  have  already 
been  mentioned ;  Major  S.  S.  Rockwood,  a  graduate  of  the 
academy,  since  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  Whitewater 
normal  school,  an  assistant  state  superintendent  and  now 
employed  in  the  bureau  of  the  signal  service  at  Washington ; 
Rev.  0.  U. Whitford,  now  general  missionary  in  the  Western 
states ;  G.  M.  Guernsey,  afterwards  principal  of  Platteville 
academy ;  N.  C.  Twining,  now  teaching  in  California ;  Mrs. 
Ida  F.  Sallan  Kenyon,  now  of  Alfred  university ;  Edward 
Searing,  the  author  of  a  text-book  on  the  first  six  books 
of  Virgil's  -35neid,  state  superintendent  for  two  terms,  and 
now  president  of  the  Mankato  normal  school  of  Minnesota; 
Mrs.  Ruth  H.  Whitford,  for  years  preceptress  and  teacher  of 
English  studies ;  Miss  Mary  F.  Bailey,  teacher  of  the  Ger- 
man language  for  seven  years,  and  Mrs.  Chloe  0.  Whitford, 
teacher  of  mathematics  and  the  German  language,  most  of 
the  time  for  thirty  years,  until  her  death  in  1888. 

The  act  of  incorporating  the  institution  as  a  college  was 
passed  by  the  legislature  of  Wisconsin  in  February,  1867, 
and  was  formally  accepted  by  the  stockholders,  March  13th 
following,  when  a  board  of  twenty-seven  trustees  were 
elected.  A  majority  of  these  belonged  to  the  Seventh-day 
Baptist  churches,  as  the  school  had  been  established  and 
conducted  very  largely  by  members  of  this  denomination. 
Still  no  religious  test  or  qualification  is  required  of  any.  trus- 
tee, officer,  teacher  or  student  of  the  college,  and  no  secta- 


MILTON   COLLEGE.  193 

rian  instruction  is  allowed  in  the  recitations.  The  school 
has  always  been  patronized  by  members  of  the  various  re- 
ligious bodies  existing  in  the  vicinity.  The  stock  of  the  in- 
stitution is  divided  into  shares  of  twenty-five  dollars  each, 
with  a  vote  for  each  share,  and  is  regarded  as  personal 
property.  One-third  of  the  trustees  are  chosen  annually,  and 
nine  constitute  a  quorum.  Since  the  reorganization.  Rev. 
W.  C.  Whitford  and  Ezekiel  B.  Rogers  have  served  as  the 
president  of  the  board ;  Rev.  D.  E.  Maxon,  Rev.  James 
Bailey,  Albert  Whitford,  Rev.  Nathan  Wardner,  and  Rev, 
E.  M.  Dunn,  as  vice-president;  A.  W.  Baldwin,  P.  M., 
Green  and  Willard  P.  Clarke,  as  secretary;  and  Chas.  H. 
Greenman,  Robert  Williams  and  Albert  Whitford,  as  treas- 
urer. 

Besides  the  members  of  the  faculty  previously  men- 
tioned the  following,  as  the  principal  ones,  have  been  em- 
ployed, some  of  them  for  several  years:  Mrs.  Jane  C.  Bond 
Morton,  in  the  English  department;  J.  D.  Bond,  in  commer- 
cial studies;  Dr.  J.  M.  Stillman,  in  vocal  and  instrumental 
music;  T.  W.  Saunders,  in  German  and  Greek  languages; 
Lucius  Heritage,  in  Latin  languages,  afterwards  an  instructor 
in  the  state  university;  Henry  D.  Maxson,  in  rhetoric  and 
Latin  language;  Rev.  C.  M.  Dunn,  in  mental  and  moral 
science;  Miss  Mary  Jane  Horn,  in  music;  W.  F.  Place,  in  chem- 
istry and  Latin  language;  E.  H.  Evenson,  in  Scandinavian 
and  Greek  languages;  N.  W.  Williams,  in  music;  Miss  May 
C.  Baldwin,  in  crayoning  and  oil  painting;  Mrs.  Clara  Dunn 
Humphrey,  in  elocution;  W.  D.  Thomas,  in  Greek  language; 
Miss  Belle  R.  Walker,  in  German  language;'  Edwin  Shaw, 
in  chemistry  and  Latin  language;  Miss  Eda  L.  Crandall,  in 
oil  paintnig,  and  Ludwig  Kumlien,  in  phj'sics,  zoology  and 
physiology.  Subsequent  to  1877  Albert  Whitford,  of  the 
college,  and  Rev.  T.  R.  Williams,  of  Alfred  university, 
served  each  two  years  as  acting  president  of  the  faculty. 

The  college  gives  instruction  in  both  preparatory  and 
collegiate  studies.  This  arrangement  has  been  pursued  in 
common  with  many  other  similar  institutions  in  the  West. 
The  preparatory  are  divided  into  the  English,  scientific  and 
classical  courses,  each  extending  tlirougli  three  years,  and 
qualify  students  to  enter  the  collegiate  courses  of  the  same 
name,  each  covering  a  period  of  four  years.  Formerly  the 
English  was  called  the  teachers'  course,  which  was  somewhat 
shorter,  being  largely  academic  in  character.  Commercial 
branches  have  been  regularly  taught,  but  not  classified  with 


194  MILTON   COLLEGE, 

any  of  the  above  courses.  Instruction  in  the  different  de- 
partments of  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  embracing 
three  years  for  completion,  has  been  furnished  under  tlie 
charge  of  very  competent  teachers.  Diplomas  have  been 
granted  to  those  finishing  this  course.  The  training  in 
painting,  crayoning  and  penciling  has  been  excellent.  The 
registration  of  students  has  averaged  yearly  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty,  though  it  has  reached  four  hundred  and 
twenty.  Fully  one-third  of  these  have  pursued  collegiate 
studies.  The  number  of  graduates,  both  gentlemen  and 
ladies,  is  two  hundred  and  thirty-two,  which  embraces  the 
seventy-three  who  completed  the  courses  under  the  academic 
regime.  At  least  a  hundred  in  all  have  received  the  honors 
of  graduation  in  the  former  teachers'  course.  The  college 
still  feels  the  obligation,  under  which  it  entered  at  the  very 
first,  to  provide  instruction  to  young  men  and  women 
coming  from  homes  in  the  neighborhood,  and  attending 
only  a  few  terms. 

The  Alumni  association  of  the  college  holds  its  annual 
session  usually  on  Wednesday  of  the  commencement  week, 
the  last  of  June.  This  proves  a  very  interesting  occasion 
when  addresses,  essays,  poems,  and  a  banquet  are  furnished. 
Eight  of  the  trustees  of  the  institution  are  members  of  this 
body.  In  1888  an  effort  was  completed,  for  raising  by  paid 
subscriptions  for  endowment  purposes,  the  sum  of  $10,000, 
which  is  termed  "The  Alumni  fund."  The  avails  of  it  are, 
annually  applied  toward  meeting  the  salaries  of  the  teachers. 

The  current  expenses  of  the  college  have  been  chiefly 
paid  from  the  income  by  tuitions.  Still  substantial  aid  has 
been  provided  for  the  last  few  years  through  an  endowment 
fund,  which  has  been  secured  from  friends  in  the  East  as 
well  as  in  the  West.  The  amount  of  it  at  present  is 
$33,743.34.  Of  this  sum,  George  H.  Babcock,  of  Plainfield, 
N.  J.,  a  noble  benefactor,  has  contributed  $20,000.00.  Other 
generous  gilts  from  staunch  friends  of  the  institution  have 
been  expended  in  enlarging  and  improving  the  buildings 
and  grounds.  The  estimated  cash  value  of  the  sites,  build- 
ings, furniture,  apparatus  and  cabinets  is  §37,500.00.  The 
contribution  of  $1,000.00,  in  1871,  has  enabled  the  trustees 
to  establish  "  The  Babcock  library,"  named  from  the  donor, 
Rev.  Daniel  Babcock.  It  now  contains  nearly  4.000  well- 
selected  volumes,  and  a  room  in  the  main  hall  has  been  set 
apart  for  its  use.  It  is  patronized  without  any  charges  by 
both  the  students  of  the  college  and  the  citizens   of  Milton. 


MILTON   COLLEGE.  195 

Recently  commodious  rooms  have  been  neatly  fitted  up  for 
classes  in  chemistry  and  natural  history.  The  chapel  and 
the  recitation  rooms  have  been  thoroughly  repaired  and  are 
warmed  and  ventilated  on  the  best  approved  system.  Valu- 
able specimens  have  been  collected  for  the  cabinets  in  bot- 
any, mineralogy,  geology,  zoology  and  archaeology.  These 
have  been  obtained  principally  from  the  region  surrounding 
the  institution. 

The  rates  of  tuition  in  the  preparatory  course  range 
from  §8.00  to  $10.00  per  term  ;  and  in  the  collegiate  course 
from  $10.00  to  $12.00.  Instruction  in  music,  elocution  and 
oil  painting  and  crayoning  is  paid  extra.  There  are  no  in- 
cidental expenses  for  class  work  or  the  use  of  the  recitation 
rooms.  Club-board  is  provided  for  $1.50  per  week,  table- 
board  for  $2.00  and  board  in  private  families,  including  the 
accommodations  of  room,  furniture  and  bedding,  is  $3.00. 
It  has  always  been  a  prominent  aim  of  the  institution  to  sup- 
ply most  thorough  and  satisfactory  teaching  to  the  many 
poor  and  industrious  students  who  attend  it,  with  the  view 
of  acquiring  a  practical  and  liberal  education. 

The  college  has  occupied  a  foremost  position  in  contrib- 
uting to  the  advancement  of  education  in  the  state.  It  has 
furnished  thousands  of  teachers  for  the  common  district 
schools,  and  hundreds  as  principals  and  assistants  in  the 
graded  and  high  schools.  In  some  years  as  many  as  eighteen 
of  the  latter  class  could  be  counted  as  engaged  at  once.  Two 
members  of  the  faculty  of  the  state  university  came  from 
Milton.  Formerly  three  of  the  normal  conductors  of  teach- 
ers' institutes  were  graduates  of  the  college.  President  Albert 
Salisbury,  of  the  Whitewater  normal  school,  and  President 
L.  D.  Harvey,  of  the  Milwaukee  normal  school,  belong  to 
this  number.  Besides  these,  at  least  six  others  have  taught 
for  years  in  some  of  the  state  normal  schools.  We  do  not 
refer  to  the  many  successful  and  distinguished  instructors  in 
schools  outside  of  Wisconsin  who  were  educated  at  Milton. 
Professor  A.  C.  Spicer,  a  principal  of  the  institution  when  it 
was  an  academy,  originated  the  scheme  of  creating  the  nor- 
mal school  income  of  the  state  from  a  portion  of  the  swamp- 
land fund.  In  inducing  the  legislature  to  pass  the  first  bill  on 
this  subject,  in  1857,  he  was  materially  aided  by  Rev.  Edward 
Cooke,  the  president  of  Lawrence  university  at  the  time. 
Professor  Edward  Searing,  while  a  teacher  in  the  college, 
filled  the  office  of  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction 
for  the  four  years  succeeding  1873.    Under  his  administration 


196  MILTON   COLLEGE. 

the  system  of  supplying  pupils  in  the  public  schools  with 
free  text-books  went  into  operation,  the  provisions  for  the 
establishment  of  free  high  schools  were  adopted,  and  women 
were  made  eligible  to  the  different  school  offices.  He  was 
followed  by  President  W.  C.  Whitford,  who  held  the  position 
also  four  years,  beginning  his  first  term  in  January,  1878. 
He  had  written  in  1876,  after  a  most  careful  research,  a  work 
entitled  Historical  Sketch  of  Education  in  Wisconsin  for  the 
National  Centennial  of  that  year,  held  in  Philadelphia.  It 
was  published  in  book  form  by  the  state,  and  copies  of  it 
were  distributed  at  the  exposition.  It  appeared  also  as  a  por- 
tion of  the  annual  report  of  the  state  superintendent  that 
year.  While  occupying  the  office.  President  Whitford  estab- 
lished the  present  grading  system  of  the  country  schools ; 
secured  the  enactment  of  a  compulsory  education  law,  the 
same  in  all  its  essential  features  as  the  one  now  in  force, 
except  that  relating  to  the  appointment  of  truant  officers; 
prepared  a  very  extensive  circular  on  plans  and  specifications 
of  school  houses  for  the  country  districts,  villages  and  smaller 
cities,  which  work  was  published  in  an  extra  edition  by 
the  state ;  and  advocated  in  his  annual  reports  the  method 
of  raising  a  state  tax  for  the  support  of  the  public  schools,  a 
measure  which  was  subsequently  adopted  by  the  legislature. 
Honorable  Jesse  B.  Thayer,  one  of  the  first  graduates  of  Milton 
college  in  a  regular  collegiate  course,  was  elected  state  super- 
intendent, and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  office  in  Jan- 
uary, 1887,  and  continued  in  it  four  years.  He  revived  and 
made  efficient  the  state  system  of  providing  public  school 
libraries;  arranged  for  a  direct  and  active  supervision  of  the 
free  high  schools;  originated,  in  connection  with  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin,  a  summer  school  for  teachers  ;  introduced 
the  experiment  of  uniform  examinations  of  teachers  by  the 
county  superintendents,  and  brought  the  different  depart- 
ments of  pubUc  education  of  the  state  into  more  helpful 
relations  among  themselves. 

W.  C.  Whitford. 


Downer  College,  Fox  Lake,  Wis. 


Wisconsin  Female  college  was  chartered  in  1855,  and 
opened  its  doors  to  students  September,  1856.  It  had  ex- 
isted as  an  ideal  in  the  minds  of  some  members  of  the 
Baptist  denomination  for  many  years,  and  took  tangible 
form  in  1854,  when  Wm.  E.  Smith,  afterwards  governor 
of  Wisconsin,  and  E.  J.  Lindsay,  now  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Milwaukee,  inspired  with  an  intense  desire  to  found,  in 
the  then  new  state,  a  Christian  college  which  should  be  a 
center  of  power,  came  forward  and  gave  time,  money  and 
energy  to  the  planting  of  this  institution. 

After  a  year  of  prayer,  planning  and  work,  the  money 
for  the  first  building  was  nearly  all  raised,  having  been  col- 
lected in  Fox  Lake  and  vicinity :  the  contributions  of  farm- 
ers, merchants,  and  mechanics,  who  eagerly  seized  this 
opportunity  of  advancing  the  cause  of  Christian  education. 
The  gentlemen  just  mentioned  became  the  board  of  trus- 
tees, and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Freeman  was  placed  in  charge.  Mr. 
Freeman  was  a  strong  and  kind  man,  deeply  imbued  with 
the  missionary  spirit.  He  spent  five  years  in  unremitting 
labor,  preaching,  teaching,  and  visiting  the  homes  of  the 
early  pioneers,  interesting  young  women  in  all  parts  of  the 
state  in  making  an  effort  to  secure  a  higher  education,  and 
collecting  money  to  carry  on  the  work. 

In  1860,  Mr.  Goldthwaite  was  called  to  the  presidency, 
and,  because  it  was  necessary  to  meet  competition  from 
neighboring  educational  institutions,  it  was  decided  to  make 
the  school  co-educational.  This  having  been  arranged,  for 
a  brief  period  the  work  progressed  rapidly  and  favorably, 
while  all  looked  forward  with  renewed  hope  to  the  fulfill- 
ment of  the  cherished  desires  of  its  founders. 

But  in  1861  there  burst  over  the  land  that  storm  whose 
mutterings  had  been  heard  for  many  months,  and  the 
young  men,  eager  and  anxious  to  gain  an  education,  but 
more  desirous  yet  of  proving  their  loyalty  to  their  homes 
and  their  country,  laid  aside  their  books,  doffed  cap  and 
gown  to  don  the  soldier's  coat  of  blue,  and  marched  away, 
leaving  the  school  weak  indeed.     With  a  building  but  par- 

197 


198  DOWNER   COLLEGE. 

tially  paid  for,  with  no  endowment,  and  with  a  rapidly  de- 
creasing list  of  students,  the  school  succumbed  to  the  ex- 
igencies of  the  situation,  and  for  two  years  barely  maintained 
itself. 

In  many  respects  Downer  is  unique,  for  surely  no 
school  ever  had  warmer  friends,  or  made  a  more  determined 
effort  for  existence.  In  1862  the  seminary  passed  from  the 
hands  of  the  Baptists  into  the  control  of  the  Congregation- 
alists,  and  Mr.  John  W.  Davis,  a  prominent  banker,  a 
Welshman  by  birth,  realizing  the  needy  condition  of  the 
school,  and  the  great  necessity  for  renewed  effort  on  the  part 
of  all  who  were  interested  in  its  career,  came  forward  and 
offered  to  turn  over  to  the  board  a  large  part  of  the  bills 
which  he  held  against  the  seminary,  and  to  assist  them  in 
securing  a  new  president.  With  this  end  in  view,  he 
visited  Rockford,  111.,  seminary,  then  in  the  first  flush  of  its 
youth,  and  secured  the  services  of  Miss  E.  Sarah  Bodge  as 
president,  and  Miss  Crowell  as  assistant.  The  school  became 
once  more  a  female  seminary,  with  courses  corresponding  to 
those  of  Mt.  Holyoke  and  Rockford,  upon  the  plan  of  which 
it  was  originally  founded. 

On  account  of  the  financial  straits  into  which  the 
school  had  drifted,  the  board  of  trustees  decided  to  sell 
stock  at  the  usual  rate  of  $100  per  share,  the  stockholders  to 
have  the  power  of  electing  the  trustees.  This  having  been 
done,  the  school  was  placed  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Misses 
Bodge  and  Crowell,  who  were  to  pay  all  expenses,  and  to  re- 
ceive in  return  all  income  from  the  work.  This  plan,  under 
their  wise  supervision,  proved  an  admirable  one,  and  the 
school  was  raised  to  an  equality  with  the  best  educational  in- 
stitutions for  women  then  found  in  the  United  States.  It 
seems  but  right  and  fitting  at  this  juncture  to  pay  a  much- 
deserved  tribute  of  respect  and  appreciation  to  Miss  Bodge, 
whom  many  of  the  early  friends  of  the  college  remember 
as  a  woman  of  remarkable  strength  of  character ;  wise,  kind, 
firm  and  patient ;  admirably  adapted  to  the  work  of  form- 
ing character,  moulding  youth  and  inspiring  high  ideas. 
Many  young  women  look  back  with  a  deep  sense  of  grati- 
tude and  appreciation  to  the  months  spent  in  her  society. 
In  1868  death  cut  short  her  brief  but  useful  career.  She  was 
a  woman  to  be  remembered  as  a  pioneer  in  education,  an 
excellent  instructor,  and  the  perfect  type  of  a  Christian. 
Miss  Crowell  succeeded  to  the  presidency. 

In  the  meantime,  Judge  Jackson  M.  Downer,  judge  of 


200  DOWNER   COLLEGE, 

the  Supreme  Court  of  Wisconsin,  had  become  interested  in 
the  seminary,  and  made  the  generous  donation  of  ^10,000, 
to  be  used  in  constructing  Downer  hall.  It  was  a  muni- 
ficent gift,  and  was  highh'  appreciated,  especially  as  it  came 
at  a  time  when  the  accommodations  were  far  too  limited  to 
meet  the  growing  needs  of  the  school.  The  trustees  pro- 
ceeded at  once  to  buy  up  the  stock  held  by  private  indi- 
viduals, and  to  gain  the  financial  control,  which  thus  passed 
for  a  second  time  into  their  hands.  Judge  Downer  also 
advanced  money  for  current  expenses,  and  so  fostered  this 
tender  plant  that,  under  the  sunshine  of  financial  prosperity, 
for  seven  years  it  grew  and  flourished. 

But  rapid  growth  means  change,  and  in  1875  Miss 
Crowell  resigned  and  the  Rev.  A.  0.  Wright,  of  ^ladison,  now, 
and  for  many  years  past,  a  worthy  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees,  who  had  watched  with  increasing  interest  the  early 
struggles  of  this  educational  venture,  assumed  control,  with 
Miss  Shepherd  as  resident  principal.  Now,  for  the  second 
time  in  its  brief  history,  co-education  seemed  wise  and  best, 
and  Wisconsin  Female  seminary,  as  such,  ceased  to  exist, 
and  Wisconsin  college  took  its  place.  The  membership 
increased  to  120,  and  though  the  receipts  were  not  large,  and 
the  expenses  were  disproportionately  great,  yet  all  bills  were 
promptly  met  and  the  work  was  kept  on  a  safe  financial  basis. 

In  1880,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright  accepted  the  appointment 
of  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  with  headquar- 
ters at  Madison,  and  Miss  Shepherd,  at  his  desire,  was  elected 
to  fill  the  vacancy  thus  caused ;  a  position  which  she  held 
until  August,  1882,  when  she  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  John  W. 
Davis.  She  was  succeeded  in  the  principalship  of  the  seminary 
by  Miss  Helen  Pepoon,  who  continued  in  charge  for  the  five 
succeeding  years.  The  lack  of  an  endownment  retarded 
progress,  and,  while  the  school  did  not  lose  ground,  it  did 
not  increase. 

Judge  Downer  died  in  1883,  and  left  a  will  making  the 
seminary  the  residuary  legatee  of  property  amounting  in  all 
to  ^80,000,  upon  condition  that  it  should  become  again  ex- 
clusively a  female  college.  This  condition  was  promptly 
complied  with,  and  for  the  first  time  in  its  checkered  career, 
the  friends  of  the  college  felt  that  their  prayers  and  toil  were 
about  to  be  rewarded,  and  that  the  hopes  of  years  were  to  be 
realized.  But  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  endowment  was 
largely  invested  in  land  not  easily  reducible  to  money,  the 
income  came  slowly,  and  the  funds  needed  for  increased  ex- 


DOWNEK    COLLEGE.  201 

penses  were  not  fortheoining.  The  college,  however,  con- 
tinued to  grow.  In  1888,  ^liss  Pepoon  m'u:^  succeeded  by 
Miss  Mary  E.  Lyon,  who  was  })resident  for  two  years,  when 
she  was  compelled  to  resign  on  account  of  ill  health.  During 
1890  and  '91.  Miss  Orpha  E.  Leavitt,  of  Doane  college, 
Nebraska,  was  the  efficient  acting  princii)al.  About  this 
time  the  lands  belonging  to  the  college  came  into  the  market, 
and  the  fund  having  been  increased  by  various  gifts  until  it 
reached  the  sum  of  $90,000,  the  board  of  tru.stees  decided 
that  the  time  for  a  radical  change  had  fully  come.  Miss 
Leavitt  declined  to  continue  longer  in  so  arduous  a  position, 
and  after  careful  deliberation  Miss  Ellen  C.  Sabin,  then  city 
superintendent  of  schools,  Portland,  Oregon,  was  elected  presi- 
dent. She  was  well  known  in  educational  circles,  having 
been  the  first  woman  in  the  far  Northwest  to  hold  the  position 
of  principal  of  schools,  and  one  of  the  very  few  in  the  I'nited 
States  who  have  held  the  office  of  city  superintendent.  Miss 
Sabin  resigned  her  work  in  Portland,  to  become,  in  1891,  the 
presidentof  what,  inthe  honor  of  Judge  Downer,  had  recently 
become  Downer  college. 

The  history  of  the  school  for  the  past  eighteen  months 
has  been  one  of  remarkable  prosperity.  The  attendance  has 
increased  over  one  hundred  per  cent.,  and  the  various 
courses  of  study  have  been  greatly  revised  and  enlarged. 
The  seminary  course  prepares  for  any  grade  of  certificate, 
while  the  college  course  confers  the  degree  of  B.  A.,  and  this 
year,  for  the  first  time  in  its  history,  Downer  college  gradu- 
ates a  class. 

In  the  department  of  art  and  music,  the  advantages 
now  offered  are  excellent  and  they  are  highly  appreciated. 
It  is  the  design  of  the  college  to  make  the  studies  of  history, 
language,  English  literature  and  pedagogy  pre-eminent, 
these  being  in  the  direct  line  of  woman's  work. 

The  faculty  numbers  among  its  members  women  from 
Wellesley,  Boston  university  and  Woo.ster  university,  Ohio ;  a 
band  of  faithful,  cultured,  broad-minded  teachers,  true  to 
themselves  and  the  cause  of  education.  The  student.s 
are  the  representatives  of  the  best  families  in  the 
land  ;  bright  young  women,  thoroughly  in  earnest  and  full 
of  enthusiasm.  Thus  the  school  enters  u})on  a  new  era  of 
its  existence,  and  seems  well  equipped  for  giving  to  young 
women  that  breadth  of  culture  and  strength  of  character 
needed  at  the  present  time. 

Lmogene  S.  Webster. 


Carroll  College,  Waukesha. 


Carroll  college,  located  in  the  town  and  county  ot 
AVaukesha,  Avas  known  originally  as  Prairieville  academy, 
which  was  incorporated  in  the  town  of  Prairieville,  Milwau- 
kee county,  by  the  territorial  legislature  of  Wisconsin,  on 
February  19,  1841.  Thus,  within  the  period  of  time  cov- 
ered by  this  historical  sketch,  not  only  has  the  territory 
become  a  state,  Init  also  the  institution,  the  town  and  the 
county  have  changed  their  names. 

A  two-story  stone  building  for  academy  purposes  was 
loegun  in  1840  and  completed  in  1841,  and  was  said  to  be 
the  first  structure  wliolly  of  stone  erected  in  Wisconsin.  It 
was  located  on  what  is  now  known  as  Wisconsin  avenue, 
■directly  west  of  Mr.  M.  D.  Cutler's  park. 

The  first  recorded  meeting  of  the  stockholders  was  held 
on  January  1,  1844,  when  a  board  of  trustees  was  elected, 
with  the  following  officers:  Peter  N.  Cushman,  president ; 
Alexander  W.  Randall,  secretary ;  Morris  D.  Cutler,  treas- 
urer; Barzillai  Douglass,  collector. 

Previous  to  this  a  school  had  been  irregularly  main- 
tained, the  first  teacher  being  William  T.  Bidwell,  who  was 
followed  by  Silas  Chapman,  Winchell  D.  Bacon,  and  one  or 
two  others.  The  building  was  subsequently  used  by  the  dis- 
trict school  for  more  than  a  year,  at  a  rental  of  one  dollar 
per  week. 

In  November,  1845,  Mr.  Eleazar  Root  came  to  AVauke- 
sha,  and  by  him  the  educational  work,  more  directly  con- 
nected with  that  of  Carroll  college,  was  begun.  He  obtained 
the  lease  of  the  academy  building  for  seven  years,  on  condi- 
tion that  he  would,  at  his  own  expense,  finish  the  basement 
and  enclose  the  grounds  with  a  board  fence. 

He  soon  succeeded  in  establishing  quite  a  flourishing 
school,  and  proposed  to  the  trustees  to  raise  the  academy  to 
the  grade  of  a  college.  With  their  approval  he  drew  up  the 
charter  in  which  said  academy  was  incorporated  as  Carroll 
college. 

A  question  having  arisen  in  late  years  as  to  the  origin 
of  this  name,  a  letter  of  inquiry  was  addressed  to  Professor 
E.  Root,  then  residing  at  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  and  in  his 

2"2. 


CARROLL   COLLEGE.  203 

reply,  dated  March  23, 1882,  be  writes  as  follows  :  "In  refer- 
ence to  the  name,  it  was  suggested  in  the  board  of  trustees 
that  inasmuch  as  Washington,  Jefferson,  Hamilton  and 
Franklin  liad  colleges  named  after  them,  the  proposed  col- 
lege should  be  named  'Carroll'  in  honor  of  one  of  the  noblest 
signers  of  the  declaration  of  independence.  The  suggestion 
was  adopted,  and  the  college  was  so  named  Carroll,  after 
Charles  Carroll,  of  Carrolltou." 

This  act  of  incorporation  is  dated  January  31,  1846,  and 
was  speedily  followed  by  the  organization  of  a  college  board 
of  nine  trustees,  the  election  of  two  professors  at  a  salary  of 
$500,  said  salary  to  be  increased  to  $800  in  two  years,  if  the 
condition  of  the  treasury  would  warrant,  and  by  other  steps 
looking  towards  the  immediate  inception  of  college  work. 

Mr.  Root  was  the  leading  spirit  in  this  whole  movement. 
He  was  the  clerk  of  the  board  of  trustees ;  as  principal  of 
the  academy  having  prepared  five  young  men  who  were 
ready  to  form  the  new  freshman  class,  he  was  now  retained 
as  principal  and  also  was  elected  professor  of  rhetoric  and 
English  literature,  and  he  was  charged  with  the  special  duty 
of  correspondence  with  respect  to  securing  a  president.  A  let- 
ter written  by  Professor  Root  from  Prairieville,  February  25, 
1846,  offering  to  Rev.  Daniel  L.  Carroll,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  church  of  Philadelphia,  the  presidency 
of  Carroll  college,  has  been  preserved,  and  a  brief  quotation 
will  best  portray  the  enthusiastic  hopes  then  entertained  by 
those  who  were  in  charge  of  this  new  college  enterprise. 
He  writes:  "If  you  can  be  tempted  to  come  to  the  West, 
and  to  lend  your  influence  here  to  the  cause  of  religion  and 
education,  with  the  prospect  of  great  usefulness  and  success, 
let  me  propose  to  you  that  Dr.  Carroll  shall  become  the  pres- 
dent  of  Carroll  college,  and  that  you  visit  us  in  April  and 
learn  on  the  ground  ever3'thing  that  might  be  necessary  to 
enable  you  to  come  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion.  In  the  case 
of  your  final  acceptance,  we  have  no  doubt  that  Carrol  col- 
lege would  rise  rapidly  into  public  favor,  and  our  president 
be  the  presiding  genius  over  the  literary  interests  of  Wis- 
consin. You  would  have  a  wide  field  for  usefulness  and 
honorable  fame.  Mrs.  Carroll  would  be  charmed  with  the 
country.  Our  beautiful  lakes  and  prairies,  our  pure  air  and 
bright  skies  could  not  be  otherwise  than  agreeable  to  her." 

Dr.  Carroll  w^asto  have  a  salary  of  $1,000  as  pastor  of 
the  Congregational  church  until  such  time  as  a  salary  could 
be  provided  for  him  out  of  the  college  funds.     But  ill-health 


204  CARROLL   COLLEGE. 

prevented  his  acceptance  of  the  offer,  and  he  never  even 
came  upon  the  ground.  This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of 
crushing  disappointments  which  the  institution  and  its 
friends  were  destined  to  encounter. 

Not  to  anticipate,  let  us  state  that  for  the  year  1846-7, 
instruction  was  carried  on  by  two  men.  Prof.  Root,  who  gave 
his  time  to  the  academic  work,  and  Prof.  J.  W.  Sterhng,  who 
carried  the  college  class  through  the  freshman  year  in  all 
their  studies.  The  names  of  the  members  of  this  class,  Avho 
were  pronounced  by  Sterling  to  be  young  men  of  promise, 
and  some  of  them  of  marked  ability,  were  Archibald  Stew- 
art, Walker  L.  Bean,  Sidney  A.  Bean,  Calvert  C.  White  and 
John  Howell. 

Meanwhile  the  presidency  was  offered  to  Dr.  Willis  Lord, 
and,  upon  his  declination,  to  Dr.  John  W.  Yeomans.  The 
latter  gentleman  kept  the  friends  in  suspense  for  many 
months,  came  upon  the  ground  and  produced  a  favorable 
impression,  but  finally  upon  his  return  to  the  East  sent  in 
his  resignation.  A  similar  disastrous  disappointment  was 
experienced  in  the  appointment,  visitation  and  final  declina- 
tion of  Dr.  R.  McCarter,  in  1848. 

At  the  close  of  this  one  year  of  collegiate  and  academic 
work,  instruction  seems  to  have  ceased.  Prof.  Root  was 
commissioned  on  October  11,  1847,  to  act  as  agent  for  the 
college  and  to  solicit  funds  within  the  bounds  of  Wisconsin, 
at  a  salary  of  $500  and  10  per  cent,  of  the  amount  collected. 
What  was  the  result  of  his  mission,  or  whether  it  was  un- 
dertaken at  all,  does  not  appear.  Prof.  Sterling  engaged  for 
this  year,  in  connection  with  the  late  Capt.  Elihu  Enos,  in  a 
private  school  at  Prairieville.  In  1848  Mr.  Root  was  elected 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  of  the  state  of  Wiscon- 
sin, and  became  the  first  president  of  the  board  of  regents  of 
the  University  of  Wisconsin.  The  same  year  Prof.  Sterling 
was  elected  a  professor  of  the  state  university,  and  subse- 
quently became  its  vice-president. 

About  this  time,  by  the  modification  of  the  charter,  a 
separation  took  place  between  the  academy  and  the  college, 
so  that  the  building  reverted  to  a  set  of  academy  trustees,  and 
the  college  trustees  retained  only  the  college  charter.  The 
academy  building,  after  being  used  for  various  purposes, 
finally  came  into  possession  of  the  German  Evangelical  Re- 
formed church  and  was  used  by  them  as  their  home  of 
worship  until  the  year  1891,  when  the  building  was  demol- 
ished to  make  way  for  a  new  church  edifice. 


CARROLL   COLLEGE.  205 

During  the  year,  1848, 1849  and  1850,  the  college  trus- 
tees were  occupied  with  the  consideration  of  plans  for  a 
college  building,  and  with  efforts  to  raise  money  for  that 
purpose.  We  find  in  the  records,  under  date  of  December 
30,  1848,  the  report  of  a  committee  appointed  to  appraise  the 
land  donated  to  the  college.  In  their  total  valuation  of 
$2,300,  the  most  important  item  is  the  college  site  of  10 
acres,  being  "  lots  1-10  of  block  9,  in  Cutler  and  Dakin's  Ad- 
dition to  Prairieville,  now  Waukesha,"  which  was  valued  at 
$1,000.  By  this  genorous  donation  of  Morris  D.  Cutler  and 
Charles  R.  Dakin,  Carroll  college,  came  into  possession  of  a 
site  beautiful  and  commanding  in  position  and  ample  for  all 
its  present  and  future  needs  as  an  institution  of  higher 
learning. 

Steps  were  taken,  in  connection  with  some  encourage- 
ment and  aid  from  the  Presbyterian  board  of  education,  to 
again  start  a  preparatory  department.  This  was  put  in 
charge  of  Rev.  Lucius  I.  Root,  who  had  been  elected  to  suc- 
ceed Prof.  Sterling,  and  a  school  was  successfully  con- 
ducted b}"^  him  in  the  basement  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
during  the  academic  year  1849-50.  During  the  early  part 
of  1850  a  proposition  was  consummated,  which  had  long 
been  under  consideration,  to  transfer  Carroll  college  to  the 
care  and  control  of  the  Presbytery  of  Wisconsin,  old  school, 
and  by  formal  act  of  both  bodies  it  was  agreed  that  the 
Presbytery  should  fill  all  future  vacancies  in  the  board  of 
trustees  (the  number  of  whose  members  had  been  increased 
from  nine  to  twenty-one,  and  now  was  increased  to  twenty- 
four);  also  should  nominate  president,  professors  and  tutors, 
the  board  to  elect  from  those  nominated  ;  the  Presbytery, 
also,  in  connection  with  the  board,  should  raise  money  to 
erect  buildings,  support  the  faculty,  and  pay  all  just  debts. 

The  first  important  result  of  this  new  relationship  was 
the  nomination  and  election  of  Rev.  John  A.  Savage,  D.  D., 
of  Ogdensburgh,  N.  Y.,  to  be  the  president  and  fiscal  agent 
of  Carroll  college,  at  a  salary  of  $1,200  a  year,  of  which  the 
board  of  education  of  the  Presbyterian  church  agreed,  for 
the  present,  to  pay  $800  per  annum,  and  the  balance  was  to 
be  paid  out  of  the  ordinary  receipts  of  the  college,  including 
the  funds  raised  by  himself.  Dr.  Savage  was  elected  on 
September  11,  1850,  and  on  October  24th,  of  the  same  year, 
he  was  present  at  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and 
personally  accepted  the  positions  assigned  to  him.  The 
administration   of  Dr.   Savage   extends   through    the   next 


206  CARROLL   COLLEGE. 

twelve  years,  and  forms  a  most  important  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  institution.  It  was  marked  by  a  prolonged  and 
faithful  effort  to  conduct  the  school  to  eminence  as  a  seat  of 
learning,  and  to  place  it  on  a  suitable  basis  of  support. 
Though  the  latter  object  was  never  reached,  the  former  was 
temporarily  successful  and  a  valuable  work  was  done,  some 
of  the  fruits  of  which  we  will  briefly  describe. 

For  two  years  the  teaching  was  done  mainly  by  Rev.  L. 
I.  Root,  and  Dr.  Savage's  attention  was  confined  to  matters 
of  finance.  It  is  recorded  that  on  July  31,  1851,  the  board 
of  trustees  found  impracticable  the  plan  of  a  college  building 
previously  adopted,  because  of  a  lack  of  funds,  and  a  smaller 
building  was  sketched,  which  is  described  as  follows :  74x36 
feet,  stone,  two  stories,  with  attic,  central  projection  front  and 
rear  2x16  feet,  and  dome  on  center  of  roof.  This  plan  was 
adopted,  and  resulted  in  the  erection  of  the  college  building 
so  well  known  to  the  people  of  Waukesha,  which  occupied 
the  familiar  spot  in  the  college  campus  -for  thirty-two  years, 
until  destroyed  by  fire,  and  which  witnessed  so  chequered 
and  stirring  a  history. 

The  board  of  trustees  met  for  the  first  time  in  the  new 
college  edifice  on  January  4,  1853.  At  this  meeting  the  res- 
ignation of  Rev.  L.  I.  Root  as  professor  and  principal  of  the 
preparatory  department  was  accepted,  and  a  resolution  was 
cordially  adopted,  expressing  the  appreciation  of  the 
board  for  his  three  years'  faithful  service.  A  committee  ap- 
pointed to  audit  the  accounts  of  Dr.  Savage  as  fiscal  agent, 
reported  that  he  had  raised  during  the  first  year  of  his  work 
the  sum  of  $1,523.24,  and  during  the  second,  Sl,874.75.  The 
former  amount  consisted  of  notes  and  cash  donated  by  citi- 
zens of  Waukesha,  the  latter  mainly  of  contributions  from 
churches  in  the  state  of  New  York,  Alban}',  |380,  and  Og- 
densburgh,  $244,  being  at  the  head  of  the  list. 

A  freshman  class  was  organized  in  the  ftill  of  1853.  In 
January,  1854,  the  following  able  professors  were  elected  : 
Lowman  Hawes,  of  languages;  Dr.  C.  B.  Chapman,  of  chem- 
istry and  natural  science ;  Sidney  A.  Bean,  of  mathematics. 
These  names,  together  with  those  of  Profs.  W  J.  Montieth, 
Edward  Daniels,  A.  B.  Bullions,  Jesse  Edwards,  Charles  D. 
Pidgeon  and  Edward  D.  Evans,  subsequently  elected,  show 
that  there  was  no  lack  of  ability  among  the  members  of  the 
faculty  of  the  institution.  The  remuneration  being  small 
and  uncertain,  frequent  changes  were  to  be  expected,  but 
both   academic   and  collegiate  departments  were  kept   up 


CARROLL   COLLEGE.  207 

until  four  classes  had  graduated  (1857-1 8G0)  and  nineteen 
voung  men  had  gone  out  from  its  walls,  alumni  of  whom  any 
alma  mater  might  well  be  proud.  Tlieir  names  are  perpet- 
uated in  the  annual  catalogue  of  the  institution,  and  some  of 
them  are  enrolled  high  in  the  ministerial,  legal  and  journal- 
istic records  of  the  country.  Without  invidiousness,  there 
may  be  here  mentioned  :  Rev.  Chas.  L.  Thompson,  D.  D., 
of  New  York  City,  ex-moderator  of  the  Presbyterian  general 
iissembly ;  Andrew  Watson,  D.  D.,  of  Cairo,  Egypt,  ex-mod- 
erator of  the  United  Presbyterian  general  assembly,  and 
Cushman  K.  Davis,  of  Minnesota  (who,  however,  left  the  in- 
stitution shortly  before  graduation),  ex-governor  and  now 
United  States  senator. 

The  course  of  Dr.  Savage  during  these  years  of  labor 
and  of  struggle  may  well  be  regarded  with  sympathy  and 
with  admiration.  Accepting  and  performing  the  double 
work  of  president  and  of  financial  agent,  lie  bore  the  chief 
burden  of  responsibility  in  the  maintenance  of  the  college. 
Preaching  and  teaching,  presiding  over  the  administration 
at  home,  and  presenting  its  claims  to  individuals  and 
churches  abroad,  he  gave  to  the  institution  the  vigor  of  hi& 
best  years.  In  spite  of  his  untiring  eflfbrts,  expenses  were 
always  ahead  of  receipts.  An  endowment  fund  was 
planned,  but  was  never  begun.  During  his  frequent  ab- 
sences, administration  must  be  neglected ;  and  we  are 
scarcely  surprised  to  find  at  one  time  the  resignation  of 
three  professors,  with  claims  for  services  which  they  were 
disposed  to  press  by  legal  measures;  at  another  time  an 
unfortunate  quarret  between  the  students  and  the  faculty, 
resulting  in  the  suppression  of  a  flourishing  literary  society, 
the  confiscation  of  their  property,  and  the  secession  of  a 
number  of  promising  but  hot-headed  young  men,  a  loss 
which  the  institution  could  but  ill  afford  to  endure. 

The  class  of  1860  was  the  last  graduating  collegiate 
class.  Instruction  was,  by  vote  of  the  trustees,  formally 
suspended  in  December  of  that  year.  A  debt  of  $3,000 
then  rested  against  the  institution.  Dr.  Savage's  con- 
nection with  the  institution  as  fiscal  agent  continued  until 
April  7,  1863.  The  whole  amount  of  contributions  recorded 
in  the  treasurer's  book,  from  August  30,  1851,  to  March  19, 
1863,  is  $28,177.99.  These  contri])utions  include  gifts  froni 
the  people  of  Waukesha,  and  a  few  from  other  places  in 
AVisconsin,  a  large  number  of  collections  from  churches 
in  New  York,   Pcnnsvlvania  and  other  eastern  states,  gifts 


20S  CARROLL    COLLEGE. 

from  individuals  in  the  East  (including  $500  from  James 
Lenox,  $500  from  Rev.  Cortland  Van  Rensellair  and  $500 
from  Dr.  Wm.  Chester),  appropriation  of  over  $4,000  from 
the  Presbyterian  board  of  education ;  and  two  appropriations 
($1,830  and  $072),  from   the  Wisconsin  state  normal   fund. 

In  September,  1863,  Carroll  college  was  reopened  with 
male  and  female  departments,  under  the  following  instruc- 
tors :  Rev.  Wm.  Alexander.  emplo3'ed  at  a  salarv  of  $800  ; 
C.  C.  Herrman,  $800  ;  Miss  Julia  AVillard,  $400.'  This  ar- 
rangement continued  for  one  year.  The  following  year  the 
sole  charge  was  given  to  Mr.  Alexander,  who  carried  on 
the  affairs  of  the  institution  on  his  own  account,  and  w'as  at 
the  same  time  the  j^astor  of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He 
discontinued  instruction  after  the  month  of  April,  1865. 

The  trustees  now  adopted  the  settled  policy  of  avoiding 
all  pecuniary  responsibility  in  their  arrangements  wnth  any 
future  instructor  whom  they  might  employ.  At  the  same 
time  their  desire  to  revive  the  institution  again  was  evinced 
by  the  appointment,  onOctober  12, 1865,  of  a  committee  of 
correspondence,  with  Rev.  Chas.  L.  Thompson,  of  Janesville, 
as  cliairman,  to  ]n-ocure  a  new  president.  Through  the  ac- 
tion of  this  committee  the  name  of  Walter  L.  Rankin,  of 
New  Jersey,  was  brought  before  the  board,  and  by  their 
unanimous  vote,  on  January  27,  1866,  the  management  of 
the  institution  was  offered  to  him  on  his  own  pecuniary  res- 
ponsibility, the  board  promising  their  good-will  and  co-oper- 
ation with  the  free  use  of  the  building  and  its  furniture,  and 
agreeing  also  to  apply  to  the  Presbyterian  board  of  educa- 
tion for  an  ainiual  appropriation,  which,  however,  ow4ng  to 
a  change  of  policy  of  said  board,  was  never  granted. 

The  institution  was  now  suspended  and  in  debt,  its 
buildings  out  of  repair,  its  patrons  scattered,  its  treasury 
empty. 

Prof.  Rankin  accepted  the  appointment,  came  on  very 
shortly  to  Waukesha  and  opened  a  school,  with  himself  as 
sole  instructor,  and  with  an  attendance  of  fifty  pupils  on 
Monday,  March  5,  1866.  This  attendance  increased  witliin 
one  season  to  fifty,  and  within  one  year,  to  eighty.  From 
that  date  until  the  present  time  he  has  remained  at  the  head 
of  the  instution,  with  the  exception  of  two  periods,  covering 
three  and  a  half  years,  together,  during  which  he  accepted  po- 
sitions, first  in  the  Pennyslvania  female  college,  at  Pittsburgh, 
and  afterwards  in  Lake  Forest  university,  only  to  return 
again  to  the  leadership  of  Carroll  college,  Avhich  was  a  sec- 


CARROLL   COLLEGE.  200 

ond  time,  (July  24, 1872),  and  a  third  time,  (July  16, 1881),  by 
the  unanimous  vote  of  the  board  of  trustees  offered  to  him. 
AVithin  this  period  he  has  at  different  times  filled  the  posi- 
tions of  member  and  officer  ofthe  board  of  trustees,  president 
or  principal  of  the  school,  and  financial  agent,  at  all  times 
doing  the  full  work  of  an  instructor,  except  when  absent  on 
financial  duty.  Nearly  all  the  money  received  by  the  school 
after  the  first  two  years  of  his  incumbency  has  been  raised 
by  his  personal  effort  and  solicitation.  The  history  of  these 
twenty-seven  years  can  be  best  and  most  concisely  told  by 
making  note  of  the  following  features  : 

(a.)  The  payment  of  the  old  debt.  The  re-opening  in 
1866  was  marked  by  the  rallying  of  old  friends,  and  the 
accession  of  new  ones.  A  discreditable  debt  of  $3,000,  due 
mainly  to  the  heirs  of  Dr.  Savage  and  to  other  unpaid 
teachers,  rested  upon  the  institution.  The  Presbyterian 
board  of  education  had  promised  $1,000  toward  the  liquida- 
tion of  this  incumbrance,  as  soon  as  the  balance  should  be 
raised.  By  the  efforts  of  Rev.  CI  L.  Thompson,  who  visited 
the  churches  of  Wisconsin,  and  of  Rev.  John  C.  Rankin,  D. 
D.,  of  Basking  Ridge,  N.  J.,  father  of  the  new  president,  who 
solicited  among  the  liberal  and  friendl}^  people  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  these  conditions  were  shortly  fulfilled  and 
the  institution  was  freed  from  debt.  No  standing  debt  has 
ever  been  incurred  since. 

(b.)  During  the  years  from  1866  to  1870  a  fair  and  per- 
sistent trial  was  made  of  the  question  of  self-support.  The 
attendance  increased  to  almost  the  full  accommodation  of 
the  building,  the  enrollment  reaching  about  150.  Economy 
was  practiced  in  both  the  number  and  the  salaries  of  the 
teachers,  and  in  the  incidental  outlay,  but  the  receipts  from 
tuition  proved  entirely  inadequate  to  support  the  teachers 
and  keep  the  institution  alive.  This  experience  is  fully  con- 
firmed by  that  of  other  schools  of  similar  character  and 
circumstances.  No  institution,  competing  with  the  free 
school  system  and  seeking  to  popularize  its  advantages,  can 
exist  without  endowment  or  some  perennial  stream  of  contri- 
butions. 

(c.)  Resort  was  therefore  had  to  financial  solicitation. 
The  synod  of  Wisconsin  annually  commended  the  cause  to 
their  churches,  and  generous  helpers  responded  to  the  call, 
many  of  them  again  and  again.  But  the  process  of  .seeking 
this  aid  became  from  year  to  year  more  irksome.  Prof. 
Rankin  resigned  his  position  on  June  6,  1871.     For  the  next 


210  CARROLL   COLLEGE. 

year  Rev.  W.  D.  F.  Lummis  carried  forward  the  scliool, 
assisted  by  liis  wife.  After  one  year's  trial  he  resigned. 
Upon  the  return  of  Prof.  Rankin,  in  January,  lS73,ashghtly 
different  basis  of  support  was  provided.  To  supplement  the 
receipts  from  tuition,  a  three  years'  annual  subscription,  in 
shares  of  ten  dollars,  was  signed  by  forty  persons,  afterwards 
increased  to  about  one  hundred.  This  expedient  kept 
things  in  good  working  order  for  a  while,  yet,  though  dupli- 
cated more  than  once,  it  was  not  a  permanent  security 
figainst  discouragement  and  arrearage.  The  necessity  for 
something  better  became  more  and  more  evident. 

(d.)  Meanwhile  it  became  the  settled  policy  of  the  institu- 
tion to  attempt  for  the  present  only  academic  work.  Classes 
were  prepared  for  the  freshman  year  and  then  dismissed  to 
other  institutions.  Upon  Prof.  Rankin's  second  assumption 
of  the  reins,  in  1873,  he  was  at  his  own  request  elected  as 
j)rincipal,  and  not  as  president.  Mo  attempt  was  made  to 
change  the  name  of  the  institution,  which  would  be  in  viola- 
tion of  the  college  charter,  but  the  circulars  and  catalogues 
clearly  set  forth  the  academic  scope  of  the  institution.  The 
right  was  reserved  to  restore  partial  or  full  collegiate  work  as 
soon  as  the  circumstances  would  warrant. 

(e).  The  doctrine  that  a  first-class  academy  is  better  than 
a  second-rate  college  was  embodied  in  the  workings  of  the 
institution,  and  furnishes  the  key  to  whatever  success  and 
prosperity  it  has  enjoyed.  By  abundance  of  testimony  it 
appears  that  the  institution  has  maintained  a  reputation  for 
thoroughness  of  instruction  second  to  none  of  its  competitors. 
Its  graduates  have  invariably  sustained  themselves  well 
wherever  their  acquirements  have  been  put  to  the  test. 
Among  its  most  enthusiastic  friends  and  supporters  to-day 
are  some  who  acquired  their  education  within  its  walls  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  are  now  sending  chil- 
dren to  walk  in  their  parents'  footsteps.  The  record  of  well- 
sustained  patronage,  in  spite  of  many  adverse  circumstances 
— of  harmony  and  order  and  devotion  to  duty  among  the 
students,  of  good  scholarship,  followed  by  a  useful  career  on 
the  part  of  hundreds  of  its  members,  is  worthy  of  examina- 
tion and  will  elicit  approval.  The  names  of  fourteen  hundred 
and  twenty-one  students  are  enrolled  upon  its  register,  of  whom 
eight  hundred  and  forty-one  are  young  men,  five  hundred 
and  sixty  young  women.  The  majority  of  its  graduates 
have  been  of  maturer  years  than  the  ordinary  college  pre- 
paratory and  have  found  no  difliculty  in  passing  at  once  to 


CARROLL   COLLEGE.       '  211 

tlie  legal  or  medical  school.  A  very  large  body  of  teachers 
have  passed  out  from  its  walls,  probably  four  hundred  at 
least.  Bible  study  has  been  a  part  of  the  daily  programme. 
Christian  associations  have  been  actively  supported  among 
the  students.  The  religious  atmosphere  has  been  very 
decided,  and  the  school  was  pronounced  by  the  late  State 
Y,  M.  C.  A.  secretary,  Mr.  W.  E.  Lewis,  who  was  a  frequent 
and  welcome  visitor,  as  among  the  very  first  in  the  state  in 
its  religious  character  and  work. 

(/.)  The  most  encouraging  history  of  the  institution, 
both  financial  and  educational,  dates  from  the  year  1881, 
when  Professor  Rankin  was  for  a  third  time  placed  in  charge 
of  its  affairs,  having  been  for  two  years  a  member  of  tlie 
faculty  of  Lake  Forest  University.  During  the  first  of  these 
years  Professor  Geo.  H.  Reid  was  principal  of  Carroll  col- 
lege, but  resigned  in  September,  1880,  and  for  the  rest  of 
that  academic  year  the  doors  of  Carroll  college  were  closed. 
The  critical  condition  of  affairs  aroused  the  loyal  sentiment 
of  its  friends,  and  on  August  23,  1881,  an  alumni  meeting 
was  held  in  the  Presbyterian  church,  of  Waukesha.  At  this 
meeting  a  subscription  to  a  twenty  thousand  dollar  endow- 
ment fund  was  begun,  and  its  further  prosecution  was  put 
in  the  hands  of  Professor  Rankin.  The  movement  made 
slow  but  steady  progress  and  finally  reached  substantial 
completion.  The  largest  donation  was  of  ^2,000  (subse- 
quently increased  to  over  $3,000),  by  Wm.  Thaw,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  of  which  Dr. 
C.  L.  Thompson  was  pastor.  If  the  endowment  could  have 
been  prosecuted  alone  it  might  earlier  have  reached  success. 
But  large  sums  were  needed  to  meet  incidental  expenses, 
especially  as  the  patronage  must  be  slowly  recovered,  while 
for  that  very  purpose  a  strong  faculty  must  be  presented, 
and  the  place  of  the  principal,  who  was,  for  occasional 
periods,  absent  on  financial  duty,  must  be  supplied.  The 
situation  was  very  much  complicated  by  the  burning  of  the 
college  building,  which  occurred  on  January  25,  1885,  fire 
breaking  out  at  just  the  hour  when  the  students  were  gathered, 
and  friends  were  assembling,  at  11  o'clock  a.  m.,  for  religious 
service  in  observance  of  the  day  of  prayer  for  colleges.  The 
building  was  a  total  loss,  and  less  than  $3,000  was  realized 
from  the  insurance.  If  this  event  was  to  prove  a  blessing, 
certainly  it  did  not  present  that  appearance  to  the  bewildered 
principal  and  faculty  as  they  assembled  their  scattered  forces 
on  the  following  Monday  morning  in  the  basement  of  the 


212  CARROLL   COLLEGE. 

Presbyterian  church,  where  for  awhile  three  classes  were 
lield  simultaneously  in  the  same  room,  and  where,  after  fit- 
ting up  adjoining  rooms,  the  school  was  snugly  domiciled 
for  the  ensuing  two  years.  At  the  time  of  the  fire  over  one 
hundred  scholars  were  in  attendance  and  the  numbers  were 
well  kept  up  in  the  new  quarters,  the  two  graduating  classes 
which  went  out  from  the  basement  of  the  church  being 
almost  equal  in  numbers  to  any  consecutive  two  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  institution. 

The  financial  agent  now  found  himself  charged  with 
the  circulation  of  three  subscription  papers  in  behalf  of  the 
same  cause,  and  largely  among  the  same  circle  of  friends 
and  supporters,  being  for  the  incidental,  endowment  and 
Iniilding  funds  respectively.  For  the  first  of  these  three 
objects  a  special  subscription  in  shares  of  $5  annually  for 
three  years  was  presented,  and  was  speedily  successful, 
l)etween  $500  and  $600  being  pledged  for  each  of  the  years 
1885,  1886  and  1887.  This  tided  over  the  current  expenses 
and  gave  an  opportunity  for  pushing  the  other  and  greater 
schemes.  What  kind  of  pushing  was  required  is  very 
evident.  A  plan  for  a  twenty  thousand  dollar  building  was 
first  adopted  by  the  board  of  trustees.  This  was  afterwards 
cut  down  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The  sympathy 
awakened  by  the  fire  was  considerably  weakened  by  the 
time  which  elapsed  before  this  movement  was  under  way, 
and  b}^  the  diversion  of  the  other  subscription  papers.  One 
illustration  will  tell  the  story  of  what  was  done  and  how  it 
was  done.  In  two  years  the  sum  of  $5,285.66  was  con- 
tributed to  the  building  fund,  and  on  the  list  of  subscribers 
were  only  two  names  for  over  one  hundred  dollars,  these 
being  for  $150  each.  While  the  munificent  gifts,  which  are 
to  place  Carroll  college  on  an  independent  foundation,  are 
yet  to  come,  persons  of  moderate  means  and  large  hearts  have 
displayed  a  noble  and  oft-repeated  liberality.  The  sale  of  a 
four-acre  lot,  donated  in  earlier  years  by  Richard  Smart, 
added  $3,500  to  the  building  fund,  and  year  by  year  the 
as.sets  of  the  institution  kept  making  a  steady  gain. 

On  January  11,  1887,  the  new  building  was  occupied  b}' 
the  school,  a  commanding  and  attractive  edifice,  the  archi- 
tectural pride  of  Waukesha,  yet  somewhat  limited  in  its  ac- 
commodations, having  been  abridged  from  the  original  ])lan. 
It  is  of  Waukesha  limestone,  rock-faced,  three  stories  and 
basement,  with  tower,  well  proportioned  and  graceful. 

(g.)     While  the  financial  history  of  Carroll  college  has 


CARROLL   COLLEGE.  213 

been  given  above  with  considerable  detail,  a  summary  of  re- 
ceipts is  hereto  appended,  because  of  a  belief  that  the  record 
is  unique  and  remarkable.  It  certainly  exhibits  a  faithful 
persistency  in  presenting  the  interests  of  Carroll,  and  an  un- 
flagging readiness  to  respond  on  the  part  of  a  large  number 
of  friends  who  were  cognizant  of  the  struggles  and  the  achieve- 
ments of  the  institution.  The  building  fund  and  endow- 
ment fund  contributions  each  occupy  about  twelve  long 
ledger  columns  in  the  treasurer's  book. 

The  following  table,  drawn  from  a  minute  examination 
of  the  records,  presents  the  total  contribution  (actual  cash  re- 
ceipts), with  the  number  of  contributors,  during  the  entire  ad- 
ministration of  Prof.  W.  L.  Rankin,  divided  into  periods  dating 
from  the  successive  re-openings,  and  from  the  fire  in  1885: 

SUMMARY. 

1886-1873 35  names $  5,189  43 

1873-1881 398      "     5,339  60 

1881-1885 308      "     14,490  55 

1885-1886 248      "     9,284  66 

1886-1891 485      ''     15,549  80 

«  . 

Total 1,474  names $49,854  04 

Divided  as  follows : 

Endowment  fund $  19,620  31 

Building  fund 15,198  15 

Incidental  fund 15,035  58     849,854  04 


Among  those  individuals  who  have  during  this  period 
contributed  frequently  and  largelv  are  the  following:  Wm. 
Thaw,  $3,200;  Geo.  H.  Laflin,  $1,655;  W.  L.  Rankin,  $1,559.37; 
J.  K.  Anderson,  $1,555;  John  S.  McDonald,  $1,223.33;  A. 
J.  Frame,  $1,080;  W.  D.  Bacon,  $780;  Alex.  McDonald,  $650; 
John  Johnston,  $570;  T.  D.  Cook,  $500;  Wm.  L.  Wright, 
$405.  Dr.  C.  L.  Thompson  is  credited  with  having  con- 
tributed and  personally  raised  $1,155.93,  and  Dr.  J.  C. 
Rankin  $1,972.50. 

The  facts  and  statistics  given  in  this  history  extend  to 
the  close  of  the  year  1891-1892.  It  remains  only  to  sketch 
the  present  condition  and  outlook  (January  1,  1893,)  and  to 
notice  some  points  of  special  interest  and  promise. 

The  curriculum  of  this  institution  has  embraced  the 
full  list  of  college  preparatory  studies,  including  ancient 
and  modern  languages,  scientific  and  English  courses. 
Besides  these  requirements,  it  has  also  special  features, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  a  year's  study  of  general 
history,   a    year    of  English  history  and    literature,   with 


214  CARROLL   COLLEGE. 

study  of  works  as  well  as  of  authors,  a  year  of  experimental 
physics,  one  to  two  years  in  pedagogy,  etc.  Literary  interest 
and  excellence  are  cultivated  by  the  weekly  rhetoricals,  and 
by  occasional  public  entertainments,  such  as  prize  contests 
in  declamation  and  debate,  the  commencement  orations, 
etc.  The  scope  of  the  institution  is  decidedly  more  than 
that  of  a  mere  preparatory  school.  The  larger  number  of 
its  graduates,  for  various  reasons,  do  not  go  to  another 
college.  Carroll  is  their  finishing  school,  from  which  they 
enter  at  once  into  teaching,  business  or  professional  study. 
The  age  of  its  graduates,  though  generally  under  20, 
frequently  ranges  from  21  to  25. 

In  addition  to  these  facts,  which  have  given  the  insti- 
tution in  its  practical  workings  during  recent  years  the 
aspect  rather  of  a  small  college  than  of  a  preparatory  school, 
an  important  step  in  advance  is  now  to  be  chronicled.  By 
action  of  the  board  of  trustees  at  their  last  annual  meeting, 
one  year  has  been  added  to  the  course  of  instruction,  and 
this  is  now  in  operation. 

The  curriculum  , now  covers  the  following  grades: 
academic,  preparatory,  sub-junior,  junior,  middle  and 
senior ;  collegiate,  freshman.  One  or  more  years  will  doubt- 
less be  added  as  circumstances  will  warrant. 

The  six  working  rooms  of  the  building  are  occupied  by 
its  six  teachers  and  are  well  filled  with  scholars.  The 
names  and  departments  of  the  teachers  are  as  follows : 

Walter  L.  Rankin,  Ph.  D.,  Principal,  Latin  and 
physics.  Samuel  B.  Ray,  mathematics,  physiology,  ped- 
agogy. Frank  W.  Tilden,  A.  B.,  Greek,  German.  Carrie 
S.  Johnson,  history,  literature,  botany.  May  N.  Rankin. 
French,  elocution,  physical  culture.  Henrietta  Parkes, 
assistant  in  English  branches.  Prof.  Rankin  is  a  graduate 
of  Princeton  college,  class  of  1860,  and  received  his  honor- 
ary degree  from  that  institution  in  1883.  Prof.  Ray  has 
been  connected  with  the  institution  since  September,  1884, 
and  has  proved  a  tower  of  strength  through  his  force  of 
character  as  a  man  and  his  success  as  a  disciplinarian  and 
an  instructor.  Miss  Johnson  has  been  for  six  years  in  the 
educational  force  of  Carroll,  and  is  recognized  as  a  warm 
personal  friend  to  all  the  pupils,  and  as  a  well-informed, 
alert  and  skillful  teacher.  Prof.  Tilden  graduated  from 
Hamilton  college  in  June,  1892.  By  his  half  year's  w'ork 
in  the  department  of  language,  in  Carroll,  he  has  proved 
himself  the  right  man  in  the  right  place,  and  is  justly  re- 
garded as  a  very   valuable  addition  to   the  teaching  force. 


CARROLL   COLLEGE.  215 

Misses  Parkes  and  Rankin  contribute  a  creditable  share  to 
the  smooth  and  efficient  working  of  the  school. 

The  faculty  are  united  in  their  Christian  character  and 
influence,  and  are  leaders  in  the  religious  work  of  the  school. 
Yet  the  active  religious  work  is  largely  carried  on  by 
the  students  themselves,  among  whom  are  a  devoted 
band  of  workers  eager  to  improve  the  thousand  opportuni- 
ties presented  by  the  intimacy  of  school  life  for  personal 
work  among  their  fellow  students. 

The  present  valuation  of  the  property  of  the  college, 
including  building  and  site,  equipment  and  endowment,  is 
$60,000.  Additional  buildings,  a  better  equipment,  and  a 
more  substantial  endowment  are  much  needed.  With  a 
view  to  promoting  the  attainment  of  this  object,  the  trustees 
have  placed  the  financial  interests  in  the  hands  of  Rev.  J. 
G.  Blue,  whose  term  of  service  as  financial  agent  began  Mav 
1,  1892.  No  better  investment  of  $100,000  for  benevolent 
purposes  can  be  suggested  than  to  put  it  into  the  endowment 
fund  of  Carroll  college,  where  it  will  apply  immediately  to 
the  practical  efficiency  of  the  institution,  yielding  valuable 
and  perennial  results. 

The  board  of  trustees  of  the  institution  consists  of 
twenty-four  members,  divided  into  four  equal  classes,  one 
class  being  elected  annually  by  the  Presbyterian  synod  of 
Wisconsin,  at  their  October  meeting. 

The  present  officers  and  committees  of  the  Board  are  as 
follows  :  Hon.  Lewis  A.  Proctor,  president ;  Clark  S.  Hart- 
well,  vice-president ;  A.  \.  B.  Dey,  secretary  ;  Andrew  J. 
Frame,  treasurer.  Executive  committee :  Lewis  A. 
Proctor,  Fred.  Wardrobe,  Clark  S.  Hartwell,  John  Johnston, 
A.  V.  B.  Dey,  Thomas  D.  Cook,  Prof.  W.  L.  Rankin. 
Finance  committee :  A.  J.  Frame,  C.  S.  Hartwell,  Alex.  Cook, 
W.  A.  Nickell,  Fred  Wardrobe.  Instruction  committee ;  Rev. 
A.  A.  Kiehle,  Rev.  T.  S.  Johnson,  Rev.  C.  S.  Nickerson, 
Rev.  O.  H.  Chapin,  Rev.  J.  G.  Blue.  Visiting  committee  : 
Rev.  T.  S.  Johnson,  Alexander  McDonald,  Rev.  J.  G.  Blue. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  synod  in  October,  1892,  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  were  elected  as  new  members  of  the 
board,  and  have  accepted  the  appointment:  Rev.  J.  G. 
Blue,  Rev.  L.  C.  Smith,  Luther  W.  McConnell,  Robert  Mc- 
Alpine  and  Jas.  G.  Black.  These,  together  with  Rev.  C.  L. 
Thompson,  D.  D.,  Rev.  J.  E.  Chapin,  Rev.  E.  P.  Rankin  and 
Mr.  Robert  Menzies,  and  with  the  members  of  the  above- 
committees,  constitute  the  entire  membership  of  the  board 
of  trustees.  W.  L.  Rankix. 


Wayland  Academy,  Beaver  Dam. 


Although  this  institution  secured  a  university  charter^ 
which  it  still  retains,  it  at  present  aims  to  be  only  a  iirst-class 
academy.  The  character  of  the  work  done  at  different 
periods  is  indicated  in  the  following  sketch. 

Something  over  forty  years  ago,  when  our  state  was 
still  young  and  fired  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  possibilities 
of  the  future  seemed  limitless,  the  Baptist  denomination, 
headed  by  some  of  our  noblest"  pioneer  ministers,  among 
whom  were  Rev.  P.  Conrad,  D.  D.  Reed,  E.  D.  Underwood, 
N.  E.  Chapin  and  J.  W.  Fish,  proposed  the  founding  of  a 
Baptist  universit}',  the  object  of  which  should  be  a  broad 
and  liberal  education,  and  the  upbuilding  of  nol)le  Chris- 
tian character  among  all  the  young  people  and  churches  of 
our  state. 

In  1854,  the  Wisconsin  Baptist  education  society  was 
organized  and  committees  were  immediately  appointed  to 
canvass  the  state  for  funds.  These  committees  were  com- 
posed ot  men  of  the  most  intense  enthusiasm,  and  they 
met  everywhere  with  warm  encouragement.  Every  man 
in  the  state  was  alread}'  rich  in  prospect,  though  poor 
in  ready  cash,  and  the  success  of  the  school  seemed  certain. 
If,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  enthusiasm  and  faith  in  the  pos- 
sibilities of  the  future,  some  mistakes  were  made  which 
years  of  toil  have  scarcely  rectified,  we  must  still  honor  the 
noble  purposes  which  formed  the  foundation  of  all  this 
work,  and  which,  we  believe,  will  in  time  bring  about  more 
than  their  own  fulfillment. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  college  building  was  laid  July 
4,  1855,  with  ceremonies  considered  at  the  time  imposing. 
This  building  still  stands  as  College  hall.  Whatever  errors 
may  have  been  in  the  educational  theories  of  the  projectors 
of  the  school,  they  certainly  builded  securely  in  the  erection 
of  this  substantial  building.  While  the  walls  were  rising, 
however,  school  work  was  begun  and  carried  on  under  such 
conditions  as  were  at  hand. 

In  June,  1855,  the  preparatory  department  of  Wayland 
university  was  opened  in  the  old  Baptist  meeting  house,  with 

216 


WAYLAND   ACADEMY.  217 

Professor  Benj .  Newell  as  teacher.  Professor  Xewell  continued 
in  the  school  for  five  years,  and  is  described  l)y  his  students  as 
a  successful  teacher,  and  a  man  of  delicate  sensibilities  and 
thorough  conscientiousness  of  character  rarely  equaled.  In 
the  fall  of  1857  some  of  the  rooms  of  the  new  college  building 
were  ready  for  occupancy,  and  Professor  A.  S.  Hutchins 
became  a  member  of  the  faculty,  bringing  to  his  work  that 
intense  earnestness  of  character,  and  enthusiastic  love  for  the 
young,  which  has  characterized  all  his  labor  with  us,  and 
made  his  pupils  reverence  and  love  him,  as  only  unselfisli, 
noble  characters  ever  are  loved. 

At  this  time,  only  young  men  were  admitted  to  the 
school,  and  here  we  first  notice,  what  has  become  so  marked 
a  feature  of  the  school  during  its  entire  history,  the  large 
number  of  young  men  studying  for  tlie  ministry. 

In  1860,  the  school  was  closed  for  want  of  funds,  and 
many  of  the  students  went  to  Rochester  university,  X.  Y.,^ 
Madison  university,  N.  Y.,  Hillsdale  college,  Mich.,  and  to  our 
state  university,  where  they  entered  advanced  classes  and 
finished  their  college  course.  In  September,  1861,  the 
school  was  again  opened,  and  this  time  for  both  young  ladies 
and  gentlemen.  Professor  H.  K.  Trask  was  chosen  principal, 
and  was  assisted  by  Professor  A.  P.  Marble,  Professor  F.  B.  Pal- 
mer, Misses  Bisshel  and  Fletcher;  and  in  1866,  Professor 
Hutchins  returned  again  to  the  faculty.  This  seems  to  have 
been  the  most  flourishing  period  in  the  early  history  of  the 
institution.  The  debt  of  $13,000  was  entirely  paid,  the  school 
became  widely  and  favorably  known,  and  the  attendance  Avas 
larger  than  ever  before.  It  rarely  falls  to  tlie  lot  of  a  young 
school  to  have  three  teachers  at  one  time  who  have  given 
such  indisputable  evidence  of  their  superior  fitness  for  the 
work  as  Professors  Trask,  Palmer  and  Hutchins. 

In  1866,  two  young  ladies — Miss  Frances  Dexter  and  Miss 
Delia  Swain — received  the  first  diplomas  given  by  Wayland 
university. 

In  the  spring  of  1867,  to  the  great  grief  of  all  the  friends- 
of  the  institution,  the  school  was  again  su.spended  on  account 
of  financial  embarrassment ;  but,  during  the  summer,  arrange- 
ments were  made  with  the  University  of  Chicago,  by  which 
the  latter  university  was  to  assume  control  of  Wayland  uni- 
versity or  Wayland  institute,  and  provide  a  collegiate  course- 
for  young  ladies  and  a  preparatory  cour.se  for  young  men. 
Professor  J.  A.  Miner  was  appointed  principal,  and  was  assisted 
by  Miss  Mary  Wadsworth,   Miss   Alice    Boise,  Miss   Emma 


218  WAYLANI)    ACADEMY. 

Turner,  and  later  by  Professor  E.  F.  Stearns.  The  school 
liad,  of  course,  suffered  greath^  by  the  interruption  ;  all  of  the 
former  students  had  gone  to  other  places  to  complete  their 
education,  and  the  few  new  ones  were  scarcely  prepared  to 
begin  a  regular  course  of  study.  The  building  and  grounds 
were  in  poor  condition,  and  the  students  of  this  period  re- 
member vividly  the  many  discomforts  and  privations  which 
they  experienced. 

During  Professor  Miner's  administration,  much  was  done 
to  improve  the  building  and  bring  about  a  regular  course  of 
study,  so  that  when  Professor  Stearns  became  the  principal,  in 
the  fall  of  1871,  matters  began  to  assume  a  pleasant  aspect. 
Professor  Stearns  was  assisted  by  Miss  Kniglit,  a  Boston  lady 
of  rare  culture.  Professor  Jones,  who  had  lately  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Michigan,  Miss  Turner,  and  ^liss  Emma 
Sharp.  In  the  spring  of  '72,  there  were  three  graduates,  one 
from  the  ladies'  course  and  two  gentlemen  from  the  prepara- 
tory course,  and  from  that  time  there  have  been  graduating 
classes  every  year. 

In  the  summer  of  1875,  Wayland  institute  severed  its 
connection  with  the  University  of  Chicago,  and  became 
again  an  independent  school,  retaining  the  name  "  Wayland 
University,"  but  continuing  only  the  academic  department. 
In  this  summer,  also,  Professor  Stearns,  who  had  done  such 
good  and  efficient  work  for  five  years,  resigned  his  position  and 
became  Professor  of  Latin  in  Chicago  university,  while  Pro- 
fessor Hutch  ins  resumed  for  the  third  time  his  position  at  the 
head  of  the  school  and  remained  here  for  two  years,  when 
failing  health  compelled  him  to  leave. 

Professor  Hutchins  was  assisted  by  Professor  Pray,  now 
of  the  Whitewater  normal  school,  who  had  greatly  endeared 
himself  to  the  public  during  three  previous  years  of  service. 
Professor  Hutcliins  deserves  a  lasting  place  in  the  memory 
of  all  who  are  interested  in  Wayland.  During  his  various 
periods  of  service  his  broad  scholarship  and  intense  intellec- 
tual enthusiasm  was  the  inspiration  toward  an  ampler  life 
to  scores  of  students. 

It  was  during  the  epoch  now  under  discussion  that  the 
beginning  of  an  endowment  was  secured.  Under  the  leader- 
ship of  Rev.  A.  A.  Drown,  as  financial  agent,  nine  thousand 
dollars  were  secured.  This  beginning,  although  small,  was 
significant  as  placing  the  school  on  the  road  to  financial  in- 
dependence. It  may  here  be  said  that  throughout  its  entire 
history  the  school  has  enjoyed  the  financial  counsels  and 


WAYLAND   ACADEMY.  219 

assistance  of  many  warm  friends.  The  board  of  trustees 
has  been  composed  of  leading  laymen  and  ministers.  Mr. 
C.  B.  Beebe,  of  Beaver  Dam,  has  been  a  member  of  the  board 
almost  froni  the  beginning  of  the  school,  and  for  many 
years  was  its  chairman.  Many  others  equally  prominent 
might  be  mentioned.  Dr.  Jewett,  of  Milwaukee,  will  ever 
be  lovingly  remembered  among  them. 

Rev.  N.  E.  Wood  became  principal  at  the  opening  of 
the  fall  term  of  77.  He  occupied  that  position  until  De- 
cember, 1884.  Rev.  R.  K.  Manning,  at  one  time  pastor  of 
the  Baptist  church  at  Beaver  Dam,  and  now  the  honored 
and  efficient  pastor  of  the  North  church  of  Detroit,  Mich., 
was  associated  with  Dr.  Wood  in  the  work  of  the  school  for 
three  years,  from  1878  to  1881.  Too  much  credit  cannot 
well  be  bestowed  upon  these  men  for  their  heroic  and  suc- 
cessful efforts  to  get  the  school  established  upon  a  firm 
financial  basis.  The  school  had  an  endowment  of  but  nine 
thousand  dollars  when  Dr.  Wood  assumed  its  management ; 
but  this  amount  was  increased  to  thirty-five  thousand  at  the 
time  of  his  resignation.  This  increase  may  not  seem 
great  in  this  day  of  magnificent  munificence,  but  under  the 
circumstances  it  was  a  remarkable  achievement,  and  paved 
the  way  for  greater  success  later  on.  Dr.  Wood  was  a  man 
of  thorough  education,  accurate  scholarship,  fine  oratory 
and  profound  thought.  His  public  appearances  in  the 
state  as  the  representative  of  the  school  were  notable  examples 
of  the  highest  type  of  eloquence.  The  sacrifices  of  himself 
and  those  associated  with  him  were  marked  examples  of 
Christian  devotion  to  a  noble  cause.  Since  leaving  the 
school  he  has  been  pastor  of  the  Memorial  Baptist  church  of 
Chicago  and  the  Strong  Place  church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and 
is  now  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  of  Brookline, 
Mass.,  one  of  the  strongest  in  the  denomination. 

Dr.  Wood  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Geo.  F.  Linfield,  who 
entered  upon  the  duties  ofthepnncipalshipat  the  beginning 
of  the  winter  term,  1884,  and  met  all  the  requirements  of  the 
position  with  tact,  ability  and  success  until  his  untimely 
death  in  April,  1890.  "^His  body  rests  in  the  Oakwood 
cemetery  ;  his  portrait  occupies  the  place  of  honor  on  the 
chapel  walls  ;  his  memory  is  a  perpetual  benediction  to  the 
institution.  He  gave  himself  with  whole-hearted  zeal  to 
the  work  and,  to  an  extent  scarcely  equaled,  won  the  con- 
fidence and  esteem  of  the  students.  Every  student  regarded 
him  as  his  most  valued  friend.     He   greatly   extended   the 


220  WAYLAND   ACADEMY. 

reputation  of  the  school  and  largely  increased  the  attend- 
ance. The  work  of  the  school  broadened  in  every  direction 
during  the  period  of  his  management.  The  courses  in 
music,  art  and  business  became  more  comprehensive  than 
ever  before.  Among  the  material  improvements  was  the 
erection  of  Warren  cottage.  This  is  a  home  for  the  young 
lady  students  and  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  and  is  in 
every  regard  well  equipped  for  its  purpose.  This  building 
has  been  a  great  aid  to  the  school,  both  in  attracting  stu- 
dents and  in  providing  more  satisfactorily  for  the  training  of 
the  young  ladies.  Its  erection  was  one  of  the  epochal 
events  in  the  history  of  the  institution. 

After  the  death  of  Professor  Linfield,  Professor  W.  S. 
Sweet  served  as  acting  principal  for  a  few  months.  He  had 
occupied  the  chair  of  natural  science  for  several  years  and 
was  one  of  the  most  efficient  and  influential  instructors  the 
school  ever  had.  His  enthusiasm  was  infectious,  and  his 
power  to  mold  the  characters  of  young  men  was  remark- 
able. He  resigned  his  professorship  in  June,  1891,  in  order 
to  accept  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Baptist  church  of  La 
Crosse,  Wis.  In  November,  1890,  Rev.  James  P.  Thoms, 
Ph.  D.,  became  principal.  He  had  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  a 
thorough  education,  extended  experience  and  foreign  travel. 
He  labored  with  untiring  energy  until  June,  1892,  when  he 
returned  to  the  active  work  of  the  Christian  ministry. 
During  this  period  another  memorable  movement  was 
made.  The  American  Baptist  education  society  made  an 
offer  of  $7,500.00  for  the  endowment,  on  condition  that 
$25,000.00  was  raised  by  the  Baptists  of  the  state.  This 
movement  was  grandly  successful,  and  the  addition  of  these 
funds  has  placed  the  school  on  a  firmer  foundation  than 
it  ever  has  enjoyed,  and  has  rendered  advancement  possible 
in  many  directions.  In  this  connection  mention  should  be 
made  of  the  faithful  services  of  the  financial  secretary, 
Rev.  L.  G.  Catchpole.  He  was  called  to  that  position  in  the 
year  1888  and  has  since  been  a  potent  factor  in  the  financial 
prosperity  of  the  academy,  both  in  raising  money  to  com- 
plete the  payment  for  Warren  cottage  and  in  securing  the 
new  endowment.  He  has  also,  as  the  field  representative 
of  the  school,  added  largely  to  the  number  of  students. 

In  the  summer  of  1892,  Professor  Homer  J.  Vosburgh 
was  elected  principal.  He  was  the  valedictorian  of  the  class 
of  '86  in  Colgate  university,  Hamilton,  N.  Y. ;  and  since  his 
graduation  he  has  taught  for  three  years  and  been  a  pastor 


WAYLAND    ACADEMY.  221 

for  the  same  period.  The  faculty  consists  of  ten  teachers. 
The  enrollment  for  the  year  will  not  be  far  from  200.  The 
grade  of  scholarship  is  high.  All  colleges  that  admit  stu- 
dents on  certificates  accord  that  privilege  to  Wayland.  The 
discipline  is  kind  but  firm.  The  outlook  is  full  of  hope. 
Many  wealthy  friends  have  the  interests  of  the  school 
warmly  at  heart,  and  an  epoch  of  great  enlargement  is  con- 
fidently expected  in  the  near  future.  The  vicissitudes  of  its 
early  years  are  over.  For  years  it  has  enjoyed  an  assured 
and  permanent  prosperity.  With  increasing  attendance,  an 
able  faculty,  and  a  strong  board  of  trustees,  its  subsequent 
history  can  be  only  bright. 

H.  J.  VOSBURGH. 


Kemper  Hall,  Kenosha. 


A    CHURCH   BOARDING   SCHOOL    FOR   GIRLS. 

The  Right  Reverend  Jackson  Kemper,  D.  D.,  the  first 
missionary  of  the  American  church  and  the  first  of  her 
clergy  to  officiate  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains,  was 
consecrated  ''  missionary  bishop  of  the  Northwest,"  in 
September,  1835.  For  nearly  twenty  years  he  traveled  over 
and  ministered  in  a  jurisdiction  embracing  the  present 
states  of  Indiana,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota, 
and  whatever  else  was  known  of  the  West,  and  now  under 
the  care  of  ten  or  more  bishops.  In  1854  he  was  made 
bishop  of  Wisconsin,  though  still  retaining  some  missionary 
territory  until  1859.  After  his  death  in  1870,  his  successor, 
Bishop  Armitage,  proposed  to  the  church  the  establishment 
of  a  school,  as  a  fitting  memorial  of  the  bishop,  and  con- 
servator of  his  labors  to  extend  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  such 
school  to  become  in  time  "a  home  for  a  sisterhood  for 
church  school-teaching,  to  be  gradually'  formed  according  to 
the  recommendation  of  the  General  Convention."  The 
"  Durkee  mansion,"  the  old  gubernatorial  residence,  standing 
in  a  grove  of  rare  and  beautiful  evergreens,  close  upon  the 
shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  just  outside  the  village  of 
Kenosha,  was  purchased ;  and  in  1871,  the  year  following 
Bishop  Kemper's  death,  a  school  was  opened,  under  the 
rectorship  of  the  Rev.  George  M.  Everhart,  D.  D.,  number- 
ing at  first  but  ten  boarding  pupils  and  three  day  scholars. 
Within  a  year  this  unlucky  number  had  increased  to  five 
times  seven. 

In  1873  the  encroachment  of  Lake  Michigan  upon  the 
grounds  made  it  necessary  to  protect  the  property  by  a  large 
breakwater,  said  to  be  one  of  the  finest  upon  this  lake. 

In  1875  a  brick  chapel  was  erected  in  the  grounds,  as  a 
memorial  to  Mr.  Peter  Hubbell,  of  Massachusetts.  During 
the  following  year  the  chapel  was  connected  with  the  school 
building  by  a  cloister,  ninety  feet  long  and  twenty  wide, 
affording  music  rooms  below  and  a  studio  above. 

In  1878  the  Sisters  of  St.  Mary  were  invited  by  Bishop 
Welles  to  assume  the  charge  of  the  school,  in  accordance 

222 


KEMPER    HALL.  •2'2o 

with  its  original  purpose,  the  now  venerable  Dr.  Ashley, 
of  Milwaukee,  being  chaplain.  In  1886  the  Sisters  accepted 
Kemper  hall  as  a  permanent  charge  and  l)ecame  trustees. 
Armitage  hall,  sixty-five  feet  long  and  thirty  feet  wide,  was 
erected  in  1885  for  a  gymnasium  and  recreation  hall.  The 
school  and  household  having  again  outgrown  the  building, 
in  1891  an  addition  was  made,  joining  the  south  side 
of  the  house,  forty  feet  by  forty-five,  and  four  stories 
high,  giving  a  new,  cheerful  dining-room  on  the  ground 
floor,  a  spacious  school-room  above,  and  two  floors  of 
additional  dormitory  room,  each  with  fifteen  windows 
looking  out  to  the  east,  west  and  south.  Other  addi- 
tions have  been  made  from  time,  including  a  lal> 
oratory,  a  steam  laundry  p,nd  a  suitable  house  for  servants. 
The  entire  group  of  buildings  is  heated  by  steam  from  a 
furnace  sunk  in  the  ground,  and  quite  removed  from  all 
school  and  living  rooms. 

Kemper  hall  to-day  contains,  beside  the  chapel,  Armit- 
age hall,  the  large  school-room  and  twenty  other  rooms  in 
use  by  the  school,  household  accommodations  for  eighty- 
five  pupils ;  while  a  full  number  of  teachers  and  assistants 
are  lodged  at  "The  Pines,"  an  adjoining  cottage  of  sixteen 
rooms,  purchased  by  the  sisters  in  1890.  It  is  believed  that 
better  scholastic  work  can  be  accomplished  by  both  teacher 
and  pupil  than  in  .schools  where  the  teachers  are  responsible 
for  house-order  out  of  school  hours. 

The  plan  of  the  school  provides  courses  of  study  in 
English,  Latin,  modern  languages,  science  and  mathematics ; 
and  while  not  professing  to  be  in  any  sense  a  college  for 
women,  it  demands  a  grade  of  scholarship  enabling  its  pupils 
to  take  advanced  rank  in  the  best  Eastern  colleges.  It  is  at 
the  same  time  sufficiently  flexible  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  individual.  The  aim  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Mary,  in 
this,  as  in  all  their  schools,  is  the  natural  and  healthy  develop- 
ment of  the  pupils  placed  under  their  charge,  in  body  and 
soul  as  well  as  in  intellectual  culture.  They  desire  thorough- 
ness and  reality  of  character  as  the  true  basis  of  education ; 
and  the  aflcction  with  which  former  pupils  return,  year  after 
year,  to  keep  holidays  with  the  school,  speaks  plainly  of  a 
fine  relationship  affecting  the  whole  life.  At  All  Saints,  at 
the  feast  of  the  Purification,  and  at  Founders'  day.  May  24th, 
especially  do  friends  gather  under  the  old  roof  to  keep  the 
time-honored  feasts. 

The  location  of  this  school,  about  half-way  between  the 


224  KEMPER  HALL. 

cities  of  Chicago  and  Milwaukee,  and  its  healthful  situation, 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  are  advantages  well  appreciated 
by  patrons.  The  house  is  supplied  with  artesian  water, 
famed  for  its  invigorating  and  remedial  properties.  Details 
of  sanitation'  are  under  the  constant  supervision  and  direc- 
tion of  Dr.  N.  A.  Pennoyer,  of  the  Fennoyer  sanitarium. 

The  department  of  health  and  physical  culture,  includ- 
ing both  indoor  and  outdoor  exercise,  is  in  charge  of  a 
thoroughly  trained  and  accomplished  special  teacher,  who 
has  the  power  of  maintaining  attention  and  interest.  The 
school  is  so  divided  that  the  greatest  amount  of  individual 
instruction  and  oversight  may  be  secured.  Dr.  Sargent's 
methods  are  used.  The  gymnasium  is  newly  furnished  with 
all  necessary  appliances.  The  aim  is  the  full,  but  gradual 
and  cautious  development  of  each  pupil.  The  results  thus 
far  obtained,  as  shown  by  measurements  taken,  and  in  the 
more  elegant  carriage  of  the  young  ladies,  are  most  satisfac- 
tory. In  the  increase  of  breathing  capacity,  the  key  to  all 
physical  growth,  the  development  has  been  universal,  in 
some  cases  very  marked. 

There  have  been  since  1874,  ninety-nine  graduates. 
The  president  of  the  alumnce  association  is  Miss  Belle  Mc- 
Gregor, of  Milwaukee.  The  trustees  are  the  Bishop  of  Mil- 
waukee, ex-officio  president,  the  Sisters  of  St.  Mary,  and  Mr. 
Nathan  Allen,  of  Kenosha.  One  hundred  and  ten  pupils 
have  been  in  attendance  during  the  school  vear  of  1892- 
1893. 

Sisters  of  St.  Mary. 


University  School,  Kenosha- 


A  DAY  AND  BOARDING  SCHOOL  FOR  BOYS. 

This  school  is  situated  in  Kenosha,  on  the  Cliicago  & 
Northwestern  railroad,  about  fifty-one  miles  from  Chicago 
and  thirty-three  from  Milwaukee. 

The  site  is  a  pleasant  one,  facing  Central  park  and 
bordering  on  Prairie  avenue.  There  are  two  buildings. 
The  house  contains  the  sleeping  rooms,  the  dormitories,  bath- 
room, reception-room  and  library.  The  school  house  con- 
tains a  large  study-room,  class-rooms,  a  gymna.sium  and 
billiard-room.  There  are  tennis  courts  for  the  recreation  of 
the  boys.  It  is  a  home  school,  and,  not  being  so  large  as 
other  boarding  schools,  individual  attention  can  be  given  to 
the  boys  who  are  well-taught  and  well-cared  for. 

The  object  of  this  school  is  to  furnish  the  elements  of  a 
sound  education,  to  prepare  boys  for  a  classical  or  a  scientific 
course  in  any  Eastern  or  Western  college,  or  to  give  a 
thorough  English  training  to  those  who  must  enter  business 
life  at  an  early  age. 

The  school  was  founded  in  1889  by  N.  Rowe  and  H.  N. 
Seaver.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  founders  to  devote  most 
of  their  time  to  the  preparation  of  boys  for  college,  but 
younger  boj's  applying  for  admission,  the  thought  was 
suggested  that  the  school  might  also  be  made  a  training 
school  for  boys  whose  parents  wished  them  to  have  a  sound 
education.  Thoroughness  has  been  the  watchword  of  the 
school.  It  has  sought  to  give  its  pupils  the  power  to  work, 
and  has  not  enforced  the  principle  that  a  certain  number  of 
books  must  be  finished  in  a  certain  time.  Particular  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  teaching  boys  how  to  study.  There  are  three 
courses  in  the  school — the  classical,  the  scientific,  and  the 
English. 

The  school  has  entered  boys  without  conditions  at  Yale, 
Columbia,  West  Point  and  Madison.  It  has  met  with 
success  in  the  boys  whom  it  has  sent  up  for  entrance  ex- 
aminations. 

225 


226  UNIVERSITY   SCHOOL. 

The  discipline  is  suggestive  rather  than  repressive. 
The  pupils,  teachers  and  matron  form  one  large  family  and 
the  rules  are  those  that  govern  an}'-  well  ordered  house- 
hold. Realizing  that  a  sound  body  is  absolutely  essential  to 
a  sound  mind  and  good  morals,  the  pupils  are  encouraged  to 
take  a  lively  interest  in  all  manly  out-of-door  games,  and  to 
make  a  proper  use  of  the  gymnasium  when  the  weather  does 
not  permit  field  exercise. 

All  information  relative  to  admission,  expense,  etc., 
may  be  obtained  from  the  catalogue,  which  can  be  obtained 
by  application  to  the  school. 

N.  RowE. 


INSTITUTIONS  FOR  PREPARATION  OF  TEACHERS. 


Pedagogy  at  the  University  of  Wisconsin. 


The  opinion  that  the  state  university  should  aid  in  the 
preparation  of  teachers  very  early  found  acceptance  in  Wis- 
consin. The  charter  of  the  university,  obtained  at  the  first 
session  of  the  state  legislature,  provided  that  "  The  university 
shall  consist  of  four  departments;  the  department  of  science, 
literature  and  the  arts;  the  department  of  law;  the  depart- 
ment of  medicine;  and  the  department  of  the  theory  and 
practice  of  elementary  instruction;"  and  when  the  university 
proper  Avas  opened  in  1850,  in  the  addresses  at  the  inaugura- 
tion of  Chancellor  Lathrop  special  stress  was  laid  upon  the 
importance  of  the  fourth  department.  It  was  not  until  1856, 
however,  that  any  special  instruction  was  provided  for  those 
wishing  to  become  teachers.  During  that  year  and  the  follow- 
ing Professor  Daniel  Read  delivered  a  brief  course  of  lectures 
onpedagogy .  No  further  effort  of  the  sort  appears  to  have  been 
made  until  1863,  when  Professor  Chas.  H.  Allen,  who  had  been 
for  several  years  agent  of  the  normal  school  regents,  was 
appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  normal  department.  Some 
hostility  seems  to  have  existed  toward  the  department, 
"mainly  on  the  ground  of  its  bringing  females  into  the  uni- 
versity," the  faculty  say.  Professor  Allen  resigned  at  the 
end  of  two  years,  the  department  was  continued  during  1866 
by  Professor  J.  L.  Pickard,  and  then  dropped  for  a  series  of 
years. 

It  was  finally  revived  in  1885  by  the  appointment  of  a 
professor  of  the  science  and  art  of  teaching,  whose  title  has 
since  been  changed  to  professor  of  philosophy  and  pedagogy. 
The  work  in  this  department  as  now  organized  at  the  uni- 
versity follows  the  three  lines  of  the  history,  the  philosophy 
and  the  practice  of  education.  For  some  years  the  arrange- 
ment of  studies  has  kept  the  order  just  given.  The  historical 
work  is  concerned  especially  with  the  growth  of  educational 
doctrine,  and  experience  has  shown  that  this  is  at  once  the 
most  interesting  and  suggestive  means  of  introducing  the 
student  to  the  problems  of  pedagog3^  It  puts  him  in  a  posi- 
tion to  understand  their  significance,  and  affords  a  back- 
ground for  the  discussion  of  current  issues.     To  this  historical 

228 


PEDAGOGY   AT   THE    UNIVERSITY   OF   WISCONSIN.  229 

study  of  educational  doctrine  is  added  a  sketch  of  the  devel- 
opment of  education  in  the  United  States,  supported  with  a 
more  detailed  examination  of  the  organization  and  adminis- 
tration of  education  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin. 

It  is  manifest  that  the  philosophy  of  education  is  already 
begun  by  this  historical  course.  This  is  further  pursued  by 
a  systematic  inquiry  into  the  nature,  form  and  elements  of 
education,  based  upon  psychology,  ethics  and  sociology.  Va- 
riety and  range  is  given  to  the  instruction  by  seminary 
methods,  in  which  important  special  topics  receive  more  de- 
tailed study  ;  and  the  whole  is  brought  into  relation  with 
practice  by  investigations  into,  the  systems  and  methods  of 
Germany,  France,  England  and  other  countries.  Abstracts 
of  articles  in  reviews  and  the  higher  current  philosophical 
and  educational  publications,  with  reviews  of  valuable  trea- 
tises on  special  topics,  put  the  student  in  touch  with  the 
educational  thought  and  movements  of  the  day.  Thus 
transition  is  effected  to  the  practice  of  education,  in  which 
special  attention  is  given  to  school  management,  hygiene, 
supervision  and  methods  of  instruction.  The  practice- 
teaching,  which  forms  so  important  a  part  of  the  training  in 
the  normal  schools,  is  felt  to  be  wholly  unsuited  to  university 
instruction ;  and  it  is  believed  that  the  superior  culture  of 
the  university  student,  and  the  breadth  of  view  gained  by 
the  course  which  has  been  outlined,  more  than  make  up  for 
the  lack  of  this  element. 

The  success  of  the  present  plans  is  fully  shown  by  the 
record  of  enrollment  in  the  classes.  The  study  is  wholly 
elective,  and  is  pursued  not  only  by  those  intending  to 
teach,  but  also  by  many  for  general  culture.  In  1855-6 
twenty-one  students  enrolled  in  the  classes  in  pedagogy, 
the  year  following,  thirty ;  the  next  class  reached  forty- 
three  ;  the  succeeding  years  show  forty-eight,  sixty-seven, 
fifty-nine  and  sixty ;  while  this  year,  during  the  first  two 
terms,  sixty-eight  have  elected  the  study. 

Of  the  practical  value  of  this  instruction  it  is,  of  course, 
difficult  to  give  any  direct  evidence.  It  may  not  be  meas- 
ured by  the  number  of  graduates  of  the  university  who  are 
actually  teaching  in  the  schools,  because  it  is  almost  as  im- 
portant that  the  conceptions  necessary  for  intelligent  and 
helpful  criticism  of  educational  work  should  be  found 
among  the  cultured  portion  of  the  communities  as  that 
they  be  found  in  the  schools.  They  will  hardly  continue 
long  in  the  schools  without  this  support  from  outside.     Yet 


230  PEDAGOGY    AT   THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    AVISCOXSIN. 

this  imperfect  test  is  the  best  now  available.  A  careful 
examination  of  the  list  of  teachers  in  the  free  high  schools  of 
the  state,  kept  in  the  office  of  the  state  superintendent, 
shows  that  there  are  seventy-three  of  them  who  hold  diplo- 
mas of  the  state  university,  and  only  ninety-two  graduates 
from  the  five  normal  schools.  Thus  the  university  is  mak- 
ing good  that  relation  to  the  schools  of  the  state  which 
seemed  so  important  in  the  eyes  of  its  early  promoters. 

J.  W.  Stearns. 


Historical  Sketch  of  Normal  Schools  in  Wis- 
consin. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  GROWTH   OF   THE   IDEA. 


The  flourishing  oak-tree  implies  the  acorn,  the  soil,  and 
time  for  growth.  A  system  of  normal  instruction  like  that 
of  Wisconsin,  with  its  five  schools  in  active  operation,  with 
others  in  prospect,  and  with  an  elaborate  adjunct  system  of 
teachers'  institutes,  similarly  implies  previous  agitation  and 
labor  and  the  gradual  growth  of  favorable  public  sen- 
timent. Thus  any  intelligent  presentation  of  the  normal 
school  history  of  the  state  must  include  some  considera- 
tion of  the  growth  of  the  normal  school  idea  among  the  peo- 
ple of  the  state. 

The  normal  school  acorn  was  brought  from  the  East  to 
Wisconsin  in  the  territorial  days.  The  first  attempt  to  plant 
it  was  made  in  the  constitutional  convention  of  1846.  In 
the  journal  of  that  body  we  read  as  follows :  "The  question 
was  then  put  on  concurring  in  the  fifth  amendment  of  the 
committee  (of  the  whole),  which  was  to  add  to  section  2d, 
'until  a  university  shall  be  established,  the  net  income  of  the 
university  lands  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  support  of  nor- 
mal schools,'  and  was  decided  in  the  negative  (48  to  51)." 

The  authorship  of  this  amendment  cannot  be  certainly 
determined.  Dr.  Henry  Barnard  had  come  to  Madison,  at 
the  invitation  of  Hon.  John  H.  Tweedy  and  others,  and  ad- 
dressed the  convention  at  an  evening  session.  The  points 
advocated  by  him  were  reduced  to  writing  by  himself,  and 
were  embodied  in  the  constitution  as  adopted  by  the  con- 
vention. Possibly  he  was  the  author  of  this  unsuccessful 
amendment,  also,  but  it  seems  hardly  probable. 

The  constitution  of  1846  was  rejected  by  the  people  of 
the  territory,  and  another  convention  met  late  in  1847.  As 
a  part  of  the  article  on  education,  the  committee  on  that  sub- 
ject reported  the  following : 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  233 

"Section  7.  When  the  population  of  any  county  in  this 
state  shall  exceed  twenty  thousand  in  number,  provision  shall 
be  made  by  law  for  the  erection  of  an  academy  in  such  county, 
with  male  and  female  departments  and  a  normal  school  depart- 
ment for  the  education  of  teachers  for  the  primary  schools." 

But  this  section  was  expunged  by  the  convention. 

THE  STATE  CONSTITUTION. 

The  normal  school  idea,  however,  gained  a  foothold  in  the 
constitution  of  1848,  which,  in  Article  X.,  Section  2,  sets  apart 
"a  separate  fund,  to  be  called  the  school  fund,  the  interest  of 
which,  and  all  other  revenues  derived  from  the  school  lands, 
shall  be  exclusively  applied  to  the  following  objects,  to- wit: 

"1.  To  the  support  and  maintenance  of  common  schools 
in  each  school  district,  and  the  purchase  of  suitable  libraries 
and  apparatus  therefor. 

"2.  The  residue  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  support  and 
maintenance  of  academies  and  normal  schools,  and  suitable 
libraries  and  apparatus  therefor." 

Here  we  are  able  to  trace,  in  part  at  least,  the  paternity 
of  the  provision  for  normal  schools.  The  article  on  educa- 
tion w^as  drafted  by  Rev.  Eleazer  Root,  of  Waukesha,  who 
had  been  elected  to  the  convention  by  constituents  of 
opposite  politics,  with  special  reference  to  the  cause  of  pub- 
lic education.  During  the  weeks  between  Mr.  Root's  election 
as  a  delegate  and  the  assembling  of  the  convention,  he  had 
been  in  frequent  conference  with  Mr.  Elihu  Enos,  Jr.,  a 
graduate  of  the  Albany  normal  school  under  David  P. 
Page,  who  had  just  entered  upon  the  work  of  teaching  in 
Waukesha,  through  Mr.  Root's  instrumentality.  Fresh 
from  the  influence  of  Mr.  Page,  and  full  of  enthusiasm  for 
normal  schools,  Mr.  Enos  labored  diligently  to  instill  the 
idea  into  Mr.  Root's  mind,  and  with  success. 

The  first  plan  conceived  for  securing  normal  instruction 
in  the  state  was  that  of  connecting  it  wdth  the  university. 
In  January  of  1849,  less  than  a  year  after  the  admission  of 
Wisconsin  as  a  state,  the  regents  of  the  embryo  state  uni- 
versity, by  an  ordinance  which  was  ratified  by  the  legislature 
in  the  month  following,  established  therein  a  normal  depart- 
ment. But  the  funds  at  their  command  were  insufficient  for 
the  work  already  in  hand,  and  the  ordinance  remained  in- 
operative so  far  as  it  concerned  normal  instruction. 


234  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

FIRST  REPORT  OF  THE  STATE  SUPERINTENDENT. 

At  the  close  of  1849,  Honorable  Eleazer  Root,  then  super- 
intendent of  public  instruction,  made  the  first  annual  report 
from  his  department.  In  it  he  calls  attention  to  the  pro- 
vision of  the  constitution  respecting  normal  schools,  recounts 
the  history  of  the  Albany  normal  school,  and  transmits  the 
university  "ordinance  of  1849,"  just  alluded  to.  He  thinks 
that  such  a  normal  department,  with  a  system  of  teachers' 
institutes,  may  answer  present  need. 

Concerning  this  ordinance  of  1849,  it  cannot  be  amiss  to 
give  such  extracts  as  will  give  an  intelligent  idea  of  its  pur- 
port. The  charter  of  the  university  had  provided  for  four 
departments,  the  fourth  being  that  of  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice of  elementary  instruction. 

THE   UNIVERSITY   ORDINANCE   OF   1849. 

The  ordinance  referred  to,  after  organizing  the  depart- 
ment of  science,  literature  and  arts,  proceeds  as  follows : 

* '  The  Regents  of  the  University  do  further  ordain : 

"1.  That  there  be  hereby  established  a  normal  professor- 
ship ;  and  that  it  be  the  duty  of  the  chair  to  render  instruction 
in  the  art  of  teaching,  comprising  the  most  approved  modes  of 
inculcating  knowledge,  and  administering  the  discipline  of  the 
common  school ;  and  in  such  branches  of  study  as  may  best 
prepare  the  pupils  in  this  department  for  their  honorable  and 
useful  vocation  as  educators  of  the  popular  mind." 

Sec.  2  constitutes  the  chancellor  and  the  normal  profes- 
sor the  faculty  of  this  department,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to 
hold  annual  sessions  of  at  least  five  months,  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  such  young  men  as  may  avail  themselves  thereof 
with  a  view  to  teaching  in  the  state. 

Other  sections  provide  for  tuition  without  charge,  for  a 
degree  and  diploma,  etc. 

Section  6  declares:  "That  it  is  the  fixed  intention  of  the 
board  of  regents  thus  to  make  the  University  of  Wisconsin  sub- 
sidiary to  the  great  cause  of  popular  education,  by  making  it, 
through  its  normal  department,  the  nursery  of  the  educators  of 
the  popular  mind,  and  the  central  point  of  union  and  harmony 
to  the  educational  interests  of  the  commonwealth." 

SUPERINTENDENT  ROOT's  REPORTS  FOR  1850  AND  1851. 

In  his  report  for  1850,  Superintendent  Root  again  argues 
for  normal  instruction,  saying :  "  In  consideration  of  the 
exigencies  of  the  public  schools,  the  imperative  demand  for 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  235 

normal  instruction,  and  the  probable  inadequacy  of  the 
available  means  of  tlie  university  to  provide  for  the  reason- 
able supply  of  that  demand,  I  would  respectfully  suggest  for 
the  consideration  of  the  legislature,  the  policy  of  aiding  the 
regents  in  the  completion  of  the  normal  school  building  al- 
ready begun,  and  of  making  an  appropriation  from  the 
annual  revenue  of  the  school  fund,  of  a  sum  sufficient  to 
defray  the  current  expenses  of  normal  instruction  therein, 
until  the  university  shall  be  able  to  assume  the  burden  for 
the  benefit  of  the  common  schools  of  the  state." 

And  in  1851,  in  his  last  report,  he  returns  vigorously  to 
the  charge,  with  these  words :  "  The  utility  of  normal  in- 
struction is  conceded  ;  it  is  provided  for  in  the  constitution ; 
it  is  imperatively  demanded  by  our  wants ;  2,300  schools 
ask  for  it,  and  more  than  111,000  children  are  in  daily  need 
of  it.  Action  on  this  subject  should  be  no  longer  postponed. 
The  income  of  the  school  fund  is  now  amply  sufficient  to 
justify  it."  He  therefore  urged  the  "speedy  organization  of 
the  department  for  teachers  in  the  university."  A  lame 
conclusion  to  so  vigorous  an  onset,  we  might  say,  looking  at 
the  matter  in  the  light  of  to-day. 

REPORT   OF    THE    UNIVERSITY    REGENTS    IN    1851. 

In  the  report  of  the  university  regents,  bearing  date 
January  1,  1851,  the  purposes  of  the  board  in  regard  to  the 
normal  department  are  again  outlined,  forming  a  very  com- 
plete and  intelligent  plan,  including  "the  opening  of  a 
model  school  in  the  village  of  Madison,"  and  "  the  admis- 
sion of  female  as  well  as  male  teachers  to  all  the  advan- 
tages of  the  normal  department  of  the  universit)'."  The 
foundation  of  a  building  for  that  department  (the  south 
dormitory)  was  already  laid,  and  the  board  proposed,  if  the 
state  of  the  treasury  would  permit,  to  have  the  building 
completed  and  the  department  opened  by  the  spring  of  1852. 
This  hope  was  not  realized. 

WORK   OF    SUPERINTENDENT    LADD    IN    1852    AND    1853. 

A  new  phase  in  the  growth  of  the  normal  school  idea  was 
introduced  in  1852,  by  Superintendent  Azel  P.  Ladd,  who  held 
in  various  portions  of  the  state  what  he  calls  in  his  report 
"  temporary  normal  schools,"  since  designated  by  the  less 
ambitious  title  of  teachers'  institutes.  This  action  of  Sup- 
erintendent Ladd,  considering  the  general  condition  of  edu- 
cational affairs  at  that  time,  deserves  to  be  held  in  most  hon- 


236  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

orable  memory  by  his  successors  in  the  work,  for  the 
sagacity  and  industry  which  gave  it  birth. 

He  urged  the  necessity  of  state  aid  to  this  work,  and 
procured  the  passage  of  a  bill  to  that  end  through  one  house 
of  the  legislature,  but  it  met  with  failure  in  the  other. 

In  his  second  report,  for  1853,  the  same  matter  was  pre- 
sented more  fully,  and  in  addition,  the  following:  "No 
appropriation  has  yet  been  made  to  carry  into  effect  the 
provision  of  the  constitution  relative  to  state  normal  schools. 
That  a  school  of  this  character  is  needed,  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  good  teachers  for  our  schools  is  the  best  evidence. 
*  *  Until  we  have  an  institution  of  this  kind,  we  cannot 
reasonably  expect  the  character  of  our  schools  will  be  com- 
mensurate with  the  munificence  of  our  fund.  I  would, 
therefore,  commend  this  subject  to  your  consideration." 

SUPERINTENDENT   WRIGHT   IN    1854. 

Superintendent  H.  A.  Wright,  in  his  report  for  1854, 
speaks  of  the  value  of  normal  schools,  of  their  usefulness  wher- 
ever tried,  and  of  the  great  need  of  them  in  this  state.  He  especi- 
ally urges  the  speedy  development  of  the  normal  department 
of  the  university,  and  calls  upon  the  legislature  to  furnish  the 
pecuniary  aid,  without  which  the  regents  would  be  unable 
to  put  their  plan  into  operation.  He  says :  "  It  is  the  inten- 
tion of  the  law  of  the  state  providing  for  a  normal  depart- 
ment of  the  university,  and  of  the  board  of  regents  acting 
under  the  law,  that  it  should  be  organized  and  opened  for 
the  reception  of  teachers ;  but  when  ?  That  is  the  import- 
ant point.  We  shall  never  hereafter  need  its  good  service 
so  much  as  now,  in  providing  the  schools  with  good  teachers, 
and  now  is  the  time  for  that  normal  department  to  exist 
otherwise  than  upon  paper.  It  has  thus  slumbered  long 
enough." 

A   STEP   FORWARD   ATTEMPTED   BY   THE   UNIVERSITY. 

In  1855,  the  university  attempted  to  take  a  forward  step 
in  the  development  of  the  projected  normal  department,  as 
may  be  best  told  by  a  letter  from  Chancellor  Lathrop,  which 
was  embodied  by  Superintendent  A.  C.  Barry  in  his  report 
for  1855. 

Saj'^s  Chancellor  Lathrop : 

"It  is  the  settled  design  of  the  regents  of  the  university  to 
make  the  institution  subsidiary  to  the  cause  of  popular  educa- 
tion through  its  normal  department.     In  accordance  with  this 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  237 

policy,  the  board  at  their  last  meeting  appropriated  S500  per 
annum  for  the  support  of  this  department,  and  tilled  the  chair  of 
normal  instruction  by  the  election  of  Prof.  Daniel  Read,  who 
is  also  professor  of  the  English  department  of  the  faculty  of  arts. 
A  yearly  course  of  professional  instruction  will  be  rendered  in  the 
art  of  teaching,  at  such  season  of  the  year  as  will  best  suit  the 
convenience  of  the  teachers'  classes. 

"  In  the  present  condition  of  the  university  fund,  this  is  all 
that  the  regents  are  able  to  do  in  that  direction.  A  full  organi- 
zation of  the  department  will  require: 

"1.  The  support  of  a  normal  professor,  whose  undivided 
time  and  energies  shall  be  devoted  to  the  duties  of  his  charge. 

"  2.     The  necessary  apartments  and  apparatus;  and 

"3.  A  well  arranged  system  of  teachers' institutes  which 
shall  carry  temporary  noniial  instniction  into  every  section  of 
the  state. 

"  The  professional  coui"se  at  the  university  should  occupy 
about  five  months  of  the  year,  and  during  the  seven  months  of 
vacation  the  normal  professor,  in  connection  with  the  state 
superintendent,  should  hold  at  least  one  teachers'  institute  in 
each  judicial  district. 

"  *  *  An  appropriation  of  S2,0(X)  per  annum  would  enable 
the  board  to  perfect  the  system,  and  offer  to  the  public  a  normal 
organization  not  to  be  surpassed  elsewhere,  at  a  moiety  of  the 
expenditure  it  would  require  to  set  up  a  normal  school  separate 
from  the  university,  which  could  not  be  expected  to  perform  the 
work  as  Avell." 

But  the  legislature  failed  to  respond  with  tlie  asked-for 
aid. 

The  experiment  was  continued  b}'  the  university  alone, 
to  the  extent  of  two  courses  of  professional  lectures,  delivered 
by  Prof.  Read,  on  the  art  of  teaching.  The  first  began  in 
the  latter  part  of  May,  1856,  and  continued  through  the 
eight  remaining  weeks  of  the  term.  Eighteen  students  are 
recorded  as  in  attendance.  A  second  course  was  given  in 
1857,  with  an  attendance  of  twenty-eight  students. 

A   BILL    FOR   NORMAL    SCHOOLS    BY    HON.    JAMES   SUTHERL.\ND. 

The  first  discoverable  evidence  of  any  legislative  con- 
sideration of  the  normal  school  question  is  found  in  the 
senate  journal  for  1856,  from  which  it  appears  that,  in  the 
session  of  that  year,  Hon.  James  Sutherland,  of  Janesville, 
introduced  "a  bill  for  an  act  to  provide  for  normal  instruc- 
tion and  teachers'  institutes."  But  this  bill  met  a  i)ioneer's 
fate  and  failed  to  pass  the  senate. 


238  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

SUPERINTENDENT  BARRy's  REPORT  FOR  1856. 

In  his  report  for  1856,  Superintendent  Barry  treats  the 
subject  of  normal  schools  and  teachers'  institutes  quite  elabor- 
ately, quoting  at  considerable  length  from  Horace  Mann  and 
also  from  Henry  Barnard. 

He  commends  the  action  of  the  university  regents  in 
establishing  the  normal  professorship  under  Dr.  Read,  and 
favors  the  development  of  the  normal  department :  but  he 
protests  against  the  idea  that  it  will  satisfy  the  needs  of  the 
state,  and  urges  the  founding  of  a  separate  and  independent 
normal  school.  The  report  contains  much  valuable  matter 
and  clear  thought. 

DISSATISFACTION    WITH    THE   UNIVERSITY — ATTEMPT  TO    DIVIDE 

ITS  FUNDS. 

About  this  time  there  was  much  dissatisfaction,  on  the 
part  of  some,  with  the  workings  of  the  universitj'^ ;  and  the 
friends  of  the  incorporated  colleges  and  academies  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  getting  for  themselves  a  share  of  the  uni- 
versity funds.  It  was  soon  found  that  the  conditions  of  the 
United  States  grant  of  the  university  lands  were  such  that 
the  fund  could  not  be  diverted  in  any  way. 

The  attention  of  the  college  men  was  then  directed 
to  the  "swamp  land  fund,"  and  when  the  legislature  met  in 
January,  1857,  a  college  delegation  came  to  the  capitol  to 
procure  the  passage  of  an  act  aiding  their  schools  from  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  swamp  lands  granted  to  the 
state  by  the  general  government.  Prominent  in  this 
"lobby"  were  Dr.  Edward  Cooke,  president  of  the  Lawrence 
university,  and  Prof.  A.  C.  Spicer,  principal  of  Milton 
academy. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  IN  1857. 

A  bill  entitled  "a  bill  to  create  and  establish  a  litera- 
ture fund  from  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  swamp  lands" 
Avas,  in  accordance  with  their  desires,  introduced  in  the 
senate  by  Hon.  James  Allen  Barber.  It  was  remodeled  by 
Hon.  James  Sutherland,  chairman  of  the  committee  on 
education,  and  by  him  championed  through  the  senate,  pass- 
ing by  a  vote  of  24  to  1. 

Meanwhile,  at  the  instance  of  Prof.  J.  G.  McMynn,  of 
Racine,  and  Hon.  Elihu  Enos,  Jr.,  of  M^aukesha,  a  bill  was 
introduced  in  the  assembly  by  Hon.  Llewellyn  J.  Evans,  of 
Racine,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  education,  "to  estab- 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  239 

lish  a  normal  school  and  teachers'  institute."  Both  bills 
were  favorably  reported  by  the  assembly  committee. 

The  friends  of  the  latter  bill,  headed  by  Mr.  Enos,  made 
a  strong  push  against  the  college  bill ;  and  the  result  was  a 
reference  of  both  bills  to  a  special  committee,  headed  by  Dr. 
Dugald  H.  Cameron.  This  committee  reported  a  substitute 
on  the  same  day,  March  5th,  which  passed  both  houses  on 
the  next  day,  and  received  the  approval  of  the  governor, 
March  7th.  Thus  originated  the  act  of  1857,  "An  act  for  the 
encouragement  of  academies  and  normal  schools." 

This  law,  portions  of  which  are  given  in  another  place, 
set  apart  to  the  purposes  specified  in  its  title  the  income  of 
one-fourth  of  the  gross  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  swamp 
lands  granted  to  the  state  in  1850 ;  it  also  provided  for  a 
board  of  regents  by  which  the  distribution  of  the  income  was 
to  be  made  to  the  schools,  as  said  board  might  determine. 

THE   BOARD    OF    REGENTS. 

This  board,  as  appointed  by  Gov.  Bashford,  after  the  ad- 
journment of  the  legislature,  was  largely  made  up  of  the  of- 
ficers and  friends  of  the  very  institutions  which  were  to  re- 
ceive its  aid.  The  substitute  bill,  which  became  the  law,  had 
not  given  entire  satisfaction  to  all  the  original  movers.  Dr. 
Cooke,  indeed,  being  strongly  opposed  to  it ;  but,  such  as  it 
was,  the  best  was  made  of  it. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board,  held  July  15th,  1857, 
the  question  of  establishing  a  district  normal  school  came 
up,  and  was  referred  to  a  committee,  of  which  Dr.  Cooke  was 
chairman.  Naturally  enough,  the  committee  did  not  report 
favorably. 

Of  the  several  "conclusions"  of  the  report,  only  the  first 
need  be  given,  viz.:  "1st.  However  desirable  separate  nor- 
mal schools,  not  connected  with  any  other  institutions,  maj' 
be  to  the  interests  of  education,  in  the  opinion  of  your  com- 
mittee the  act  entitled,  'An  act  for  the  encouragement  of 
academies  and  normal  schools,'  does  not  empower  this  board 
of  regents  to  take  any  steps  in  that  direction,  other  than  to 
receive  proposals  from  towns,  villages  and  cities,  proposing 
to  erect  and  donate  such  institutions."  But  this  plan  of  en- 
trusting all  normal  instruction  to  departments  of  colleges, 
academies,  and  high  schools,  for  the  benefits  of  the  act  were 
eventually  extended  to  high  schools  also,  was  never  satisfac- 
tory to  all  parties ;  and  the  practical  workings  of  it  did 
not  alwavs  tend  to  increase  satisfaction. 


240  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IX  WISCONSIN. 

SUPERINTENDENT   BARRy's   REPORT  FOR    1857. 

The  gradual  growth  of  pubHc  opinion  is  well  illustrated 
by  the  more  advanced  stand  taken  by  Superintendent  Barry 
in  his  report  for  1857.  He  says :  "Proper  and  thorough  in- 
struction in  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  teacher's  profes- 
sion can  only  be  furnished  by  the  normal  school." 

And  in  commenting  upon  the  act  of  1857,  he  says  :  "I  re- 
gard the  action  of  the  last  legislature  on  this  subject,  in  part  at 
least,  as  premature  and  ill-advised  ;  and  the  entire  plan  as  im- 
practicable, and  destined,  of  course,  to  fail.  Without  wishing  to 
disparage  in  the  smallest  degree  the  claims  of  our  colleges  and 
academies,  or  to  call  in  question  their  usefulness  ;  I  unhesitat- 
ingly assert  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  them  to  furnish  the 
normal  instruction  required,  even  though  the  entire  income  of 
the  school  fund  Avere  to  be  distributed  among  them.  The  ex- 
periment has  been  fairly  and  faithfiilly  tried  (in  New  York),  and 
has  failed  most  signally  and  disastrously.  *  *  We  may  save 
time,  money,  and  the  vexation  and  shame  consequent  upon  de- 
feat, by  proceeding  at  once  to  the  establishment  of  a  state  nor- 
mal school  on  a  wise  and  liberal  basis.  Never  shall  we  need  such 
an  institution  more  than  we  do  at  the  present  time.  I  again  re- 
spectfully urge  this  subject  upon  the  attention  of  the  legislature, 
and  shall  hope  for  its  favorable  action  in  relation  thereto." 

THE   STATE   TEACHERS'    ASSOCIATION. 

The  state  teachers'  association  had  discussed  the  ques- 
tion of  normal  schools  at  its  meeting  at  Waukesha,  in  1857, 
and  perhaps  at  Beloit  the  year  before,  but  had  given  forth  no 
decided  voice  in  the  matter  until  the  meeting  at  Portage,  in 
1858. 

At  this  meeting,  Rev.  J.  B.  Pradt  read  an  elaborate 
essay  on  normal  schools,  and  a  committee,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  Pickett,  Pradt  and  Griffith,  reported  a  "  plan  of  nor- 
mal instruction,"  prepared  by  Mr.  Pradt,  which  included,  as 
one  of  its  several  features,  "  an  itinerant  normal  faculty  who, 
in  conjunction  with  the  county  superintendents,  shall  give 
instruction  in  the  institutes." 

Although  the  legislature  had  given  to  the  colleges  and 
academies  what  it  had  denied  to  the  university,  viz.:  aid  for 
the  support  of  normal  instruction,  the  university  did  not  give 
up  the  idea  of  a  normal  department. 

THE    UNIVERSITY DR.    BARNARD. 

By  a  bill  introduced  in  1858,  but  lost  in  the  closing 
hours  of  the  session,  it  was  proposed  to  reorganize  the  uni- 
versity with  nine  departments,  among  which  that  of  normal 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN,  241 

instruction  was  named  as  first ;  and  the  chancellor,  in  a 
communication  to  the  university  regents,  in  June  of  that 
year,  urges  that  "  the  time  has  arrived  for  a  full  develop- 
ment of  the  normal  department." 

The  university  was  at  that  time  reorganized  by  an  or- 
dinance of  the  regents  in  which,  strangely  enough,  no  nor- 
mal department  is  once  named,  though  they  proceeded 
immediately  to  elect  Hon.  Henry  Barnard,  LL.  D.,  as 
"chancellor  and  professor  of  •  normal  instruction."  This 
choice  had  been  made  largely  through  the  influence  of  Dr. 
Daniel  Read,  the  normal  professor  of  the  university,  now 
president  of  the  Missouri  state  university.  The  atten- 
tion of  the  board  of  normal  regents  was  also  directed  toward 
Dr.  Barnard.  At  a  meeting  of  this  board,  October  5,  1858, 
he  was  present,  by  invitation  it  would  seem,  and  was  then 
elected  as  their  agent. 

His  specific  duties  were  "  to  visit  and  exercise  a  super- 
visory control  over  the  normal  departments  of  all  such  in- 
stitutions as  shall  apply  for  a  participation  in  the  normal 
school  fund ;  to  conduct  county  teachers'  institutes,  and  give 
normal  instruction  in  the  same ;  and  to  co-operate  with  the 
superintendent  of  public  instruction  in  providing  a  system 
of  public  educational  addresses  to  be  delivered  in  the  various 
counties  of  the  state."  Let  it  be  remembered  that  he  was 
also  chancellor  of  the  university. 

SUPERINTENDENT  DRAPER'S  REPORT  FOR  1858. 

Superintendent  L.  C.  Draper,  in  his  report  for  that  year, 
discusses  elaborately  the  subject  of  normal  schools  and 
teachers'  institutes. 

He  speaks  of  the  division  of  opinion  as  to  the  wisdom 
and  practical  results  of  the  law  of  1857,  but  does  not  seem  to 
commit  himself  very  decidedly  to  either  side.  He  waxes 
enthusiastic  over  the  prospective  advent  of  Dr.  Barnard,  in 
the  following  terms:  "Regarding  as  I  do,  Dr.  Barnard's 
connection  with  our  state  university  and  our  normal  school 
system — especially  the  latter — as  the  most  important  event 
that  has  ever  occurred  in  our  educational  history,  if  not 
indeed,  the  most  important  in  view  of  its  probable  con- 
sequences, that  has  ever  transpired  in  thehistory  of  the  state, 
I  shall  venture  to  give  some  notice  of  his  most  prominent  ser- 
vices— thus  endeavoring  to  show  what  we  may  reasonably 
expect  as  the  result  of  his  earnest  labors  here,  by  what  he 
has  elsewhere  so  largely  and  so  thoroughly  accomplished." 


242  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Then  follow  several  pages  of  biography,  closing  with : 
"Such  is  Henry  Barnard.  We  have  reason,  as  a  state,  to 
felicitate  ourselves  on  the  acquisition  of  such  a  man.  It 
ought  to  form  a  new  era  in  our  state  history ;  and  it  will  if 
we  are  true  to  ourselves  and  him.  We  shall  best  honor  our- 
selves and  bless  our  state  by  listening  confidingly  to,  and 
promptly  carrying  into  effect,  whatever  suggestions  and  ad- 
vice such  a  man  as  Henry  Barnard,  in  his  ripe  experience 
and  noble  devotion  to  the  good  of  his  race,  may  deem  it  his 
duty  to  offer  on  matters  pertaining  to  the  great  cause  of 
popular  education  in  Wisconsin." 

Teachers'  associations  passed  congratulatory  resolutions  ; 
and  the  state  was  passed  over,  as  it  were,  into  Dr.  Barnard's 
hands,  in  the  enthusiastic  belief  that  he  would  be  able  to  do  all 
things.  But,  although  all  this  adulation  was  almost  justified 
by  his  previous  work  and  reputation,  the  fact  remained  that 
it  was  not  within  the  power  of  any  man  to  fulfill  such  over- 
wrought expectations. 

DR.  Barnard's  labors  in  Wisconsin. 

Dr.  Barnard  was  not  able  to  enter  upon  his  labors  in 
Wisconsin  until  the  spring  of  1859.  But  during  the  autumn 
of  that  year  he  organized  and  carried  out  a  series  of  teachers' 
institutes,  reaching  about  twenty  counties.  The  work  done 
under  his  direction  in  18G0,  by  examinations,  institutes  and 
teachers'  associations,  reached  probably  three-fourths  of  all 
the  teachers  in  the  state.  In  connection  with  this  work, 
several  prominent  educators  were  brought  temporarily, 
some  permanently,  into  the  state,  who  did  not  a  little  to  fos- 
ter the  educational  spirit,  and  to  promote  the  gro\v'th  of  the 
normal  school  idea.  But  Dr.  Barnard's  labors  here  were 
greatly  interrupted  by  ill  health,  and,  about  the  beginning 
of  1861,  he  resigned  his  position  and  closed  his  career  in 
Wisconsin. 

While  there  was  general  disappointment  at  the  failure 
of  so  many  high  hopes,  and  great  dissatisfaction  on  the  part 
of  some  at  his  seeming  neglect  of  the  university  under  his 
charge,  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  he  did  something,  in  sev- 
eral ways,  to  advance  the  cause  of  education  in  the  state  at 
large. 

After  the  exit  of  Dr.  Barnard,  the  dissatisfaction  with 
the  act  of  1857  naturally  increased.  To  many  it  seemed  to 
forestall,  or  at  least  to  seriously  delay,  the  establishment  of 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  243 

true  normal  schools ;  though  others  had  all  the  while  looked 
upon  it  as  the  stepping-stone  to  the  desired  end. 

SUPERINTENDENT   PICKARD's  REPORTS. 

Superintendent  J.  L.  Pickard  says,  in  his  report  for  1860: 
''The  agencies  now"  at  work  will  soon  prepare  us  for  normal 
schools,  which  must  be  established  ere  long.  I  am  not  pre- 
pared at  present  to  recommend  any  action  upon  this  subject.  • 
I  would  only  express  my  conviction  that  more  than  one 
should  be  established,  and  aided  rather  than  supported  by 
the  state."  In  1862,  he  says :  "No  temporary  expedient 
can  supply  the  place  of  the  professional  school,  or  in  any 
way  diminish  the  necessity  for  such  a  school." 

In  1863,  after  reviewing  the  workings  of  the  system 
then  in  operation,  he  continues  most  pertinently : 

"  Much  good  has  been  accomplished  by  these  agencies,  but 
they  are  at  present  inadequate  to  the  demand.  Permanent  normal 
schools  are  needed,  whose  sole  business  shall  be  the  training  of 
teachers.  The  department  of  normal  instruction  of  the  state  uni- 
versity has  been  opened  within  the  past  year,  and  the  attendance 
has  been  very  large .  Many  pupils  connected  with  it  are  not  normal 
students,  and  have  no  intention  of  engaging  in  the  work  of 
teaching.  The  circumstances  under  which  it  was  opened  ren- 
dered such  a  course  advisable.  A  course  of  study  has  been 
adopted,  but  it  will  be  next  to  impossible  to  pursue  such  a 
course  of  training  in  the  art  of  teaching  as  is  essential  to  com- 
plete professional  culture.  The  model  school  cannot  be  engrafted 
upon  the  unive^sit}^  *  *  *  j^q  q^q  school  will  supply 
the  wants  of  the  state.  We  should  look  to  the  establishment 
of  not  less  than  four  such  schools,  including  the  normal  depart- 
ment of  the  university.  *  *  *  It  is  my  impression  that  the 
present  is  the  time  to  take  the  initiatory  steps." 

OPENING   OF   A   NORMAL   DEPARTMENT   IN  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

In  the  spring  of  1863,  the  university  had  taken  a  new 
departure  in  the  shape  of  a  separate  and  tangible  normal 
department,  under  the  charge  of  Professor  Charles  H.  Allen. 
It  is  this  which  is  referred  to  by  Superintendent  Pickard  in 
the  above  extract.  One  object  of  this  was  to  make  a  place 
for  young  women  in  the  university'.  Seventy -six  entered 
during  the  first  term,  this  being  the  first  appearance  of  ladies 
as  students  at  the  university,  and  took  possession  of  the  south 
dormitorv. 


244  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

The  old-time  college  prejudice  against  the  admission  of 
women  was  not  wanting  here,  of  course  ;  but  the  normal  de- 
partment continued  until  1869,  when  it  was  merged  into  the 
female  college,  which  was,  in  turn,  fully  merged  into  the 
university  in  1873.  Professor  Allen  continued  in  charge 
until  near  the  end  of  1865,  and  was  succeeded  by  Prof. 
Joseph  C.  Pickard. 

JOHN  G.  m'mYNN   as   AGENT  OF   THE  NORMAL  REGENTS  IN    1863. 

During  the  year  of  1863,  to  go  back  again  to  our  narra- 
tive, John  G.  McMynn  was  the  agent  of  the  board  of  normal 
regents,  conducting  institutes  and  examining  the  normal 
classes  of  the  several  schools.  The  war  for  the  Union  had 
materially  weakened  the  more  advanced  classes  of  all  the 
schools,  and  Mr.  McMynn  saw  an  opportunity  to  make  head 
against  a  system  which  he  considered  radically  mischievous. 
In  his  annual  tour  of  examination,  by  an  unusual  severity 
of  examination,  he  greatly  reduced  the  number  of  benefi- 
ciaries, and  did  much  to  break  down  the  system  then  current. 
The  medicine  was  severe,  and  most  unpalatable  to  the  imme- 
diate recipients,  but  it  has  undoubtedly  had  a  salutary  in- 
fluence upon  the  state  as  a  whole. 

The  belief  is  quite  general  that  the  so-called  normal  de- 
partments were  such  only  in  name,  and  that  they  did  noth- 
ing but  purely  academic  work  and  not  always  the  best  of  that. 
While  this  is  probably  a  near  approach  to  the  truth  in  some 
cases,  the  writer  hereof  can  testify  of  one  school  (Milton 
academy),  that  its  "teachers'  class"  was  an  actual  and  prac- 
tical thing,  and  helped  to  give  a  better  class  of  teachers  to 
the  countrj'  roundabout. 

SEVENTH  ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE  NORMAL  REGENTS. 

Portions  of  the  report  of  the  board  of  regents  for  1864 
are  here  inserted  as  showing  what  the  system  was  in  its 
latest  and  consequently  best  perfected  form: 

"The  board,  in  their  report  for  1862,  say  that  'normal  in- 
struction, like  other  branches  of  education  in  the  state,  has  met 
with  obstacles  for  the  last  two  years  by  the  war,  which  has  not 
only  withdrawn  many  of  the  young  men  from  the  classes,  in 
some  cases  nearly  depleting  them,  but  has  taken  some  of  the 
best  instructors.'  These  obstacles  have  by  no  means  been  di- 
minished during  the  period  covered  by  this  report.  Not  only 
has  the  occasion  of  the  war  called  away  many  of  the  male  pu- 
pils and  instructors,  but  has  by  this  call  made  vacant  places 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IX  WISCONSIN.  245 

which  were  of  necessity  filled  by  female  teachers,  and  thus 
drawing  still  more  on  the  classes.  The  result  has  been  a  lower- 
ing of  the  standard  of  scholarship  in  nearly  every  class  reporting 
to  the  board.  While  the  number  reported  by  the  various 
classes  was  about  the  same  as  that  of  1862,  and  the  standard  of 
examination  established  by  the  board  was  the  same,  a  smaller 
number  actually  passed  the  required  standard. 

"On  the  other  hand  the  board  has  acted  in  conjunction 
with  the  state  superintendent  in  holding  teachers'  institutes  in 
different  sections  of  the  state  with  marked  good  results.  It  has 
been  the  uniform  testimony  of  those  attending  these  institutes 
that  the  results  have  been  beneficial  in  awakening  new  interest 
and  zeal  in  the  cause  of  education,  and  imparting  new  vigor  to 
the  teachers.  County  superintendents  have  expressed  their  great 
satisfaction  at  the  results,  and  they  have  been  greatly  encour- 
aged and  strengthened  in  their  own  work  by  the  new  impetus 
thus  given. 

"The  board  consider  that  no  part  of  the  fund  gives 
quicker  returns  or  is  more  satisfactorily  expended  than  that  ap- 
propriated for  these  county  or  district  institutes.  Their  influ- 
ences, inmost  cases  reach  districts  but  little  benefited  by  normal 
classes,  as  it  has  been  the  uniform  policy  of  the  board  to  send 
their  agent  and  make  appropriations  for  institutes  in  those 
counties  where  no  normal  class  exists,  in  order  that  the  bene- 
fit of  the  fund  may  be  partaken  of  by  all." 

INSTITUTIONS  REPORTING. 

"  There  are  four  classes  of  institutions  making  report  to  this 
board : 

"1.     Colleges,  with  a  net  property  of  $50,000. 

"  2.     Female  colleges,  with  a  net  property  of  $20,000. 

"  3.     Academies,  with  a  net  property  of  $5,000. 

"  4.  Union  or  high  schools  without  any  property  qualifica- 
tions defined,  but  being  'under  the  control  of  any  city,  village, 
town  or  district,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  state.' 

"Of  these  several  classes,  reports  were  received  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  fund  appropriated  to  the  following  institutions  : 

"Lawrence  university — Appleton,  Outagamie  county. 

"  Milton  academy — Milton,  Rock  county. 

"  Allen's  Grove  academy — Allen's  Grove,  Walworth  county. 

"  Beloit  High  school — Beloit,  Rock  county. 

"  Delavan  high  school — Delavan,  Walworth  county. 

AMOUNTS   APPROPRIATED  TO  SCHOOLS. 

"  The  following  table  exhibits  the  number  of  pupils  claimed 
AS  having  pursued  normal  studies,  according  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  board,  together  with  the  number  allowed  by  the 
board,  and  the  amount  appropriated  to  each  institution  : 


246  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

1st  Year's  2d  Year.  Allowed.     Amount. 
Course. 

Lawrence  university 12  1  2         $     60  00 

Milton  academy 31  10  9  270  00 

Allen'g  Grove  academy 20  5  9  270  00 

Beloit  high  school 20  5  150  00 

Delavan  high  school 7  1  30  00 

Platteville  academy 1  1 

Albion  academv 21  3  1  30  00 

AV'aupaca  high  school 22  _9  270  00 

134  20  36         $1,080  00 

"  This  distribution  was  at  the  rate  of  $30.00  for  each  pupil 
passing  the  examination.  The  board  can  only  repeat  a  remark 
made  in  its  report  for  1856: 

"■  '  These  amounts,  together  with  those  received  from  the 
tuition  of  the  pupils,  ought  surely  to  be  a  sufficient  inducement 
for  the  establishment  of  good  normal  classes,  and  it  is  not  un- 
reasonable, on  the  part  of  the  state,  to  expect  that  the  work  for 
which  the  institutions  are  paid  shall  be  fully  and  amply  done. 
Nor  should  any  institution  lay  claim  to  or  expect  to  receive  aid 
and  encouragement  from  the  state,  until,  on  its  part,  it  is  will- 
ing and  able  to  do  the  state  some  service. 

FINANCIAL   EXHIBIT. 

' '  Statement  showing  the  transactions  of  the  normal  school 
fund  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  September  30,  1864: 

Receipts.  Disburse- 

Date.  ments. 

1863. 
Oct.     1.    Balance  in  the  fund $   178  21 

1864. 
.June   1.    Transfer    from    swamp     land    fund 

income 2,977  50 

1863. 

Nov.   3.    Paid  expenses  J.  L.  Pickard $   100  00 

Dec.  16.  services  J.  G.  McMynn 78  00 

1864. 

July    1.  services  J.  G.  McMynn 500  00 

.July    1.  incidental  expenses 100  00 

.Julv    7.  mileage  C.  C.  Sholes 27  00 

.July    8.  mileage  Wm.  Starr 24  00 

July    8.  mileage  Silas  Chapman 20  00 

July    8.  services  Silas  Chapman 70  00 

July  14.  appropriation  Milton  academy...  270  00 

July  14.  appropriation     Allen's     Grove 

academy 270  00 

July  15.  appropriation  Beloit  high  school  150  00 

July  25.  appropriation     Waupaca     high 

school 270  00 

Julv  26.              traveling   expenses  J.    G.    Mc- 
Mynn   200  00 

Aug.    5.  appropriation  Albion  academy..  30  00 

Sept.   6.  mileage  H.  Robbins 20  00 

Sept.  20.  mileage  J.  E.  Thomas 30  00 

Sept.  30.    Balance  in  the  fund 206  71 

$3,155  71        $3,155  71 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 


247 


■^^  <  -!  ~ 

xS-£.2.S 

3  P  1  3  „. 


3=  S"  '^m  5 

£    ts>r3 

cf     o  o 
o         > 


•   •  •   a 

ft     itts:-3h? 

/-sC  -yx  P.O  g  S'B- 

.|5-°g|-5-g,P-;T) 

::.S.   ?S='==.g 
•  o  5-j:oP£.g 

3-      <^S-3'2S-^ 

—    £."  X  Sij:  P 
"^     «!2jii:2  3-3 

■"•  n-2  <      ft- 

<  Ss  ap  _ P 

<»  ^— 3  3»>* 

t1  p  G.      ^  ^  " 


-  Z-fir-m  -x 

^  n:"-    C.°  X 

"^  pgc  3^ 

<-■  "3  ,1  »      v;  ^ 

^  2  P  5  ^ 

c-  5:g  a 


i       3- 


P  o 
3  3 

o  o 


;-  2.:  P  p 


CO  o-'" 

2.  '§C 

»  -  o 

5  ?3 


S    K 

M           S       - 

S    p 

>    H 

CD          CO      i> 

^      3 

"^  O  "^  f>-p  3  c  S  ^  "^'^ 

»3>«,'!5ob22Sc 

tn  3  »  s 

IbIp 

••3  S-r-p  3  ^^ 

cErB^ 

1--  -1  — = 

3—3  3 

rther  knowledg 
n  Fowler's  Enf?l 
(I'H  ConBtitutio 
jr  Mansfield's  P 
ution  of  our  ow 
actical  work  li 
Iture 

lents  of  what  is 
erman'B,  entire 
uation  of  the  et 
e  other  equivale 

Prt-SS". 

»52 
p§a 

Be     — 

5^3  0  3--a> 

rt-Q^       0^ 

"x^-ES-c 

^'<         < 

s^s-^f-:: 

B^^ 

o  o    2 

in      3 

ffo     - 

•    S      3 

^    3 

•3"    P 

""   r. 

3      ■ 

3*     p 


;i 

Intel 
Writt 
Geog 
Gram 
Read 
Writl 
Spell 

►d 

=3 333gg 

M 

•  r>s'>'C 

M 

-<  1  p 

s 

'IE 

5 

£5 

>< 

"3 

at 

w-n 

O  «* 

c 

g 

►tf? 

3 

* 

•o 

o 

:< 

f 

p<o     oe^nCKitk      OS 

Higher  Arithmet; 

metical  Analysl 
Algebra  to  Quadr 
Physical  Geograp 
Composition. 
Analysis  of  Engli 
Physiology. 
United  States  Hisi 
Elementary  Soun 
Map  Drawing. 
Theory  and  Pract 

lug. 

2 

>- 

o 

o      ^o      £,     o-Z.^  n 

o 

(2 

s 

•^               o"        W     Oi 

» 

^         ^               1       •?     gr 

g                •="                3: 

D"                              cr 

(-►-i-i    h- 

*.COK>      >-• 

00 

her 
neG 
ural 
itori 
;llsh 
ital 
nee 
icul 
ural 
ory 
g- 

o 

5>; 

Alge 
eomi 
IPhi 
c. 

Lar 
PhiL 
of  G 
ture. 

His 
and 

^o     «S<w     oSc 

>■ 

2=1     <oC     S-'a 

w. 

'            %Q     q-OP     o'r'? 

a 
o 

O            3 

W 

(B 

H 

M 

(B 

B 

O 

3" 

,_ 

F' 

5P»TJ>*fl2KC:o>-3     5P 

olid  Geometr 
tion, 

rlgonometry 
hemistry. 
riticism  and 
nglish  Langi: 
[oral  Science, 
olitlcal  Econi 
stronomy. 
erspective  or 
yience  and  H 
tion. 

S 

»-* 

n 
o 

•<« 

H 

>• 
1 

y  a 

and 

Log 
lage 

Obj 

[istc 

o 

'          a.l     •       ■    9      w     I 

o 

G 

'    -«          ^  g 

:            S3                           l>5      3 

;    g«           -3 

248  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

SUPERINTENDENT  MC'mYNN's  REPORT  FOR  1864. 

John  G.  McMynn  became  state  superintendent,  Octo- 
ber 1,  1864.  In  his  first  report  he  took  ahnost  exactly  the 
same  ground  that  had  been  taken  by  Superintendent  Pick- 
ard  in  the  previous  year.  Of  the  plan  of  giving  aid  to  acade- 
mies and  other  schools  for  maintaining  normal  departments, 
he  says:  "The  number  of  departments  at  present  organized 
is  seven ;  and  the  number  of  students  examined  during  the 
present  year  is  less  than  seventy.  Sufficient  time  has  elapsed 
since  the  present  plan  was  adopted,  to  show  that  the  ostens- 
ible objects  of  the  law  are  unattainable  under  the  provisions 
of  the  act.  *  *  The  plan  is  defective.  It  makes  the 
normal  department  subordinate,  and  does  not  provide  for 
the  special  training  of  teachers." 

No  stronger  words,  perhaps,  than  those  of  Superintend- 
ent Barry,  in  1857  ;  but  Superintendent  McMynn  had  been 
long  a  recognized  power  in  the  educational  work  of  the  state, 
and  he  had  the  energy  and  force  of  character  needful  for  the 
accomplishment  of  any  radical  change  of  state  policy.  Cir- 
cumstances fortunately  concurred.  The  increasing  value  of 
the  swamp  lands  made  it  seem  necessary,  to  the  more 
intelligent,  that  some  action  be  taken  without  further 
delay  toward  some  permanent  investment  of  this  fund 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  whole  state.  Public  senti- 
ment was  also  tolerably  ripe,  after  so  long  a  course  of  educa- 
tion. The  friends  of  normal  schools  did  not  neglect  this 
auspicious  moment. 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION  IN  1865. 

As  a  result,  the  legislature  of  1865  enacted  a  law  pro- 
viding a  much  more  liberal  endowment  for  normal  instruc- 
tion, and  devoting  it  to  the  establishment  and  support  of 
distinctively  normal  schools.  The  history  and  purport  of 
the  bill  will  be  more  fully  presented  in  the  chapter  following. 

Early  in  this  session  of  the  legislature,  1865,  a  bill  was 
introduced  by  Hon.  Anthony  Van  Wyck,  of  Kenosha,  "to 
provide  for  the  establishment  of  a  state  normal  school."  It 
passed  the  senate  and  worked  its  way  through  the  com- 
mittee of  the  whole  in  the  assembly  without  amendment, 
when  its  further  consideration  was  rendered  unnecessary 
by  the  final  passage  of  the  bill  mentioned  in  the  previous 
paragraph.  Senator  Van  Wyck's  bill  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  a  single  school  the  same  fund  which  has  since  been 
found  sufficient  for  the  maintenance  of  several. 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  249 

The  laws  relating  to  normal  instruction  were  codified  in 
1869,  and  have  received  but  slight  changes  since  that  time. 
The  normal  system  has  been  rapidly  and  wisely  developed,  and 
must  increase  or  decline  in  the  favor  of  the  people,  according 
to  the  measure  of  its  work.  The  history  of  its  growth  and 
the  statement  of  its  present  condition  will  be  given  in  ensu- 
ing chapters. 

It  may  be  said,  in  passing,  that  the  term  "normal"  has 
been  unwarrantably  tacked  on  to  the  titles  of  several  private 
or  incorporated  institutions  ;  but  no  distinct  normal  school 
has  ever  been  established  in  AVisconsin  outside  of  the  state 
system,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Holy  Family  Teach- 
ers' seminary,  a  Roman  Catholic  institution  at  St.  Francis, 
near  Milwaukee.  This  school  has  a  three  years'  course  of 
study,  including  modern  languages  and  making  a  specialty 
of  musical  instruction. 

RESUME  OF     THE  GROWTH   OF    THE    NORMAL    SCHOOL    IDEA    IX 

WISCONSIN. 

To  recapitulate,  briefly,  the  gro\\i:h  of  the  normal  school 
idea  in  Wisconsin  :  It  was  introduced  into  the  constitutional 
conventions  of  the  territory  by  a  few  intelligent  citizens, 
zealous  for  the  cause  of  popular  education.  It  was  brought 
forward  and  urged,  in  some  form,  by  every  superintendent 
of  public  instruction,  in  everj^  annual  report,  from  the  ad- 
mission of  the  state  to  the  adoption  of  the  present  normal 
school  system  in  1865.  It  was  adhered  to,  in  a  departmental 
form,  by  the  authorities  of  the  state  university  for  the  twentv 
years  from  1849  to  1869. 

It  received  some  impetus  from  Dr.  Barnard  in  his 
career  in  this  state,  but  more  from  .some  of  the  more  perma- 
nent educational  workers  of  the  state,  like  Hon.  Jno.  G. 
McMynn,  Rev.  J.  B.  Pradt,  Prof.  Chas.  H.  Allen,  and  others 
who  have  worked  with  them  and  after  them.  Strangely 
enough,  it  appears  to  have  received  but  little  encouragement 
from  the  state  teachers'  association,  as  such,  until  it  was 
fairly  on  its  feet. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  FUND. 

Previous  to  1857,  nothing  had  been  effected  in  the  way 
of  providing  a  fund  for  the  support  of  normal  instruction. 
The  matter  had  been  agitated,  somewhat,  in  a  general  way. 


250  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Superintendent  Ladd,  in  1853,  had  asked,  unsuccessfully, 
for  a  permanent  appropriation  for  teachers'  institutes  ;  and 
the  universit}'  had  asked,  as  unsuccessfully,  for  aid  in  de- 
veloping its  normal  department  under  Professor  Read  in 
1854.  A  division  of  the  general  school  fund  for  normal 
school  purposes  had  been  proposed,  but  nothing  had  been 
accomplished. 

ACT  OF  CONGRESS  OF  1850. 

In  1850,  by  an  act  of  congress  entitled  "an  act  to 
enable  the  state  of  Arkansas  and  other  states  to  reclaim  the 
swamp  lands  within  their  limits,"  a  grant  had  been  made  by 
the  general  government  to  the  state  of  a  large  amount  of 
swamp  and  overflowed  lands.  The  proceeds  of  these  lands 
were,  by  the  provision  of  the  grant,  to  be  "applied  ex- 
clusively, so  far  as  necessary,  to  the  purpose  of  reclaiming 
said  lands  by  means  of  levees  and  drains." 

In  the  United  States  land  survey  of  the  state — made  as 
it  was,  partly  in  winter  and  partly  in  the  spring,  when  the 
natural  wetness  of  forest  lands  is  greatest — much  land  had 
been  described  and  recorded  as  "swamp  and  overflowed," 
which  subsequently  proved  to  be  of  the  very  best  quality. 
The  amount,  also,  was  large,  comprising,  as  was  eventually 
determined,  several  millions  of  acres.  But  a  moderate  share 
of  the  proceeds  would  be  needed,  or  could  be  used,  for  strictly 
drainage  purposes.  As  time  went  on,  and  the  value  of  the 
grant  became  more  apparent,  the  question  of  the  disposal  of 
the  proceeds  not  necessary  for  drainage  became  an  im- 
portant one. 

By  an  act  approved  October  11,  1856,  one-fourth  of  the 
net  proceeds  was  set  apart  as  the  drainage  fund,  the  remain- 
ing three-fourths  going  to  the  school  fund.  This  distribu- 
tion applied  also  to  the  already  accumulated  proceeds  of  the 
swamp  land  sales. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  legislature,  a  law  was  enacted 
which  set  apart  one  of  the  three-fourths  given  to  the  school 
fund  as  a  normal  school  fund.  Portions  of  the  act,  contain- 
ing its  salient  features,  are  here  given. 

THE   ACT   OF    1857. 

"An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  academies  and  normal 
schools. 

"The  people  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  represented  in  senate 
and  assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

"  §  1.     It  shall  hereafter.be  the  duty  of  the  commissioners 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  251 

of  the  school  and  university  lands  to  apportion  the  income  of 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  the  gross  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale 
of  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  granted  to  this  state,  by  an  act 
of  congress  entitled  'an  act  to  enable  the  state  of  Arkansas  and 
other  states  to  reclaim  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  within 
their  limits,'  approved  September  28,  1850,  to  normal  institutes 
and  academies  as  hereinafter  provided. 

"  §  2.  For  the  purpose  of  more  fully  carrying  out  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  there  shall  be  constituted  a  board  of  nine 
regents,  to  be  called  the  '  board  of  regents  of  normal  schools,' 
no  two  of  whom  shall  reside  in  any  one  county  of  this  state. 
They  shall  be  appointed  by  the  governor,  by  and  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  senate.  The  governor  and  superintendent  of  public 
instruction  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  said  board  of  re- 
gents. They  shall  have  a  voice,  but  shall  not  be  allowed  to  vote 
on  any  of  the  business  of  the  board  of  regents.  The  governor 
shall  have  power  to  fill  all  vacancies  which  may  occur  by  death, 
resignation  or  otherwise,  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legisla- 
ture, or  while  the  legislature  is  not  in  session,  but  the  appoint- 
ments thus  made  shall  be  confirmed  by  the  senate  during  the 
next  succeeding  session  of  the  legislature:  provided,  that  the 
first  board  of  regents  shall  have  power  to  act  though  appointed 
by  the  governor  after  the  adjournment  of  the  present  session  of 
the  legislature. 

"  §  7.  All  applications  for  any  of  the  income  of  the  school 
fiind,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  made  to 
the  board  of  regents  of  normal  schools,  in  such  manner  as  they 
shall  direct,  and  the  school  land  commissioners  shall  distribute 
the  income  fund  specified  in  section  one  of  this  act  to  such  nor- 
mal schools  and  academies,  and  in  such  ratio  as  the  board  of 
regents  shall  designate,  and  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  re- 
quired of  any  student  or  scholar  in  any  of  the  institutions  and 
schools  receiving  any  of  the  income  fund  designated  in  this  act. 

"  §  8.  The  regents  shall  require  of  each  institution  apply- 
ing for  any  of  the  income  ftind  designated  in  section  one,  satis- 
factory evidence,  which  shall  be  uniform,  that  the  provisions  of 
this  act  have  been  ftilly  complied  with.  They  shall  require  a 
report  annually  at  such  time  as  they  shall  designate,  of  the 
number,  age,  residence  and  studies  of  each  pupil  or  scholar  re- 
turned to  them,  entitled  to  the  distribution  share  of  said  income 
fund.  And  they  shall  make  a  report  of  the  state  and  condition 
of  such  institution  draAving  from  the  income  fund,  to  the  gover- 
nor, at  the  same  time  that  the  other  state  ofiicers  are  required  to 
report.  A  copy  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board  of  regents,  fully 
and  fairly  kept  and  codified  by  their  president  and  secretary, 
shall  be  filed  annually  at  the  close  of  each  fiscal  year  of  this  state, 
in  the  office  of  secretar}'  of  state. 


252  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 


"  §10.  All  the  income  of  the  fund  provided  for  in  section 
one  of  this  act  shall  be  distributed  to  the  colleges,  universities 
and  academies  severally,  except  the  state  university,  having  es- 
tablished and  maintained  such  normal  institute,  according  to 
the  number  of  pupils  so  instructed  in  such  studies  and  for  such 
a  period  of  time  as  the  board  of  regents  may  designate  as  a  qual- 
ification or  condition  for  receiving  the  benefits  of  this  act,  until 
the  amount  awarded  to  an}^  one  of  such  schools  shall  reach  the 

sum  of  three  thousand  dollars  annually. 

******* 

"  §  14.  Whenever  any  town,  city  or  village  in  this  state  shall 
propose  to  give  a  site  and  suitable  building  and  fixtures  for  a 
state  normal  school,  free  from  all  incumbrances,  said  board  of 
regents  may  consider  the  same,  and  if,  in  their  opinion,  the  in- 
terests of  education  will  be  advanced  thereby,  they  may,  in  their 
discretion,  select  from  such  propositions  the  one  most  feasible 
and  located  in  such  place  as  is  deemed  easiest  of  access,  and 
apportion  to  the  same  annually  a  sum  not  exceeding  three  thous- 
and dollars  for  the  support  and  maintenance  of  teachers  therein. 

"  §  15.  No  charge  shall  be  made  for  tuition  to  any  pupil 
or  scholar  in  said  normal  school  whose  purpose  is  to  fit  himself 
as  a  teacher  of  common  schools  in  this  state,  and  the  number 
and  qualifications  of  scholars,  and  regulations  under  which  they 
shall  be  admitted,  shall  be  determined  by  the  board  of  regents. 
Of  the  remainder  of  the  income  mentioned  in  section  one  of  this 
act,  every  incorporated  college  in  this  state  with  a  clear  capital 
of  ^50,000  (except  the  state  university)  shall  be  entitled  to  re- 
ceive $20  for  every  female  graduate  who  shall  have  pursued  the 
regular  course  of  study  in  such  college,  or  such  a  course  as  the 
board  of  regents  in  this  act  shall  prescribe  in  lieu  thereof." 

LEGISLATIVE  ACTION. 

In  1858,  the  legislature  added  another  fourth  of  the 
swamp  land  fund  to  the  drainage  fund,  thus  leaving  but 
one-fourth  in  the  general  school  fund.  The  normal  school 
act  of  1857,  quoted  above  in  part,  was  in  operation  for 
eight  years.  The  amount  of  money  disbursed  under  it 
was,  in  1857,  $14,520 ;  in  1858,  $10,152 ;  after  that  amounts 
varying  from  $3,000  to  $5,000  per  annum,  a  portion  of 
which  was  expended  for  teachers'  institutes.  In  1865,  a 
radical  change  was  made,  both  in  the  constitution  of  the 
fund  and  the  objects  and  method  of  its  disbursement. 

The  swamp  land  question  was  still  troubling  the  Solons 
of  the  state.  Local  "grabs"  and  "steals"  were  being  con- 
tinually worked  up  against  the  swamp  land  fund.  One 
favorite   method  of  attack  was  the  building  of  state  roads, 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  253 

etc.,  by  appropriating  swamp  lands  for  the  purpose,  these 
measures  being  often  only  the  sharp  schemes  of  private 
parties.  When  the  legislature  met  in  1865,  it  was  felt  that 
one  of  its  first  duties  was  to  make  some  permanent  and 
final  disposition  of  these  lands  so  that  the  whole  might  not 
be  squandered  and  dissipated  to  no  general  good.  "An  act 
to  dispose  of  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds therefrom,"  was  introduced,  in  the  assembly,  by  Hon. 
Jackson  Hadley,  of  Milwaukee,  once  the  popular  principal 
of  the  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  high  school.  It  passed  the  house 
March  24,  with  but  four  dissenting  -votes,  and  passed  the 
senate  April  7,  receiving  the  approval  of  Gov.  Lewis,  April 
11.  So  much  of  the  law  as  relates  to  the  normal  school 
fund  is  here  inserted  : 

THE  ACT  OF    1865. 

**An  act  to  dispose  of  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  and 
the  proceeds  therefrom. 

''The  people  of  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  represented  in  sen- 
ate and  assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

"Section  1.  All  the  provisions  of  law  which  direct  the  ap- 
plication and  use  of  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  of  this 
state,  and  of  the  lands  selected  in  lieu  of  swamp  and  overflowed 
lands,  and  of  the  moneys  received  on  sale  of  such  swamp  and  se- 
lected lands,  and  of  the  moneys  received  from  the  United  States  in 
lieu  of  swamp  lands,  for  the  purposes  of  drainage,  and  for  support- 
ing common  schools,  normal  schools  and  academies,  are  hereby  re- 
pealed ;  and  all  acts  granting  or  offering  to  grant,  or  authorizing 
the  conveyance  of  any  such  lands  to  any  county,  town,  corpora- 
tion, officer,  board,  or  any  person  or  persons,  are  hereby  re- 
pealed ;  and  such  grants,  offers,  and  authority  are  revoked  and 
annulled,  except  so  far  as  the  title  to  such  granted  lands  may 
have  been  actually  diverted  under  such  acts  :  provided,  that 
nothing  herein  contained  shall  impair  the  obligation  of  any  con- 
tract heretofore  made. 

"Section  2.  All  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  hereto- 
fore received  by  this  state  from  the  United  States,  under  and  in 
pursuance  of  an  act  of  congress,  entitled  'an  act  to  enable  the 
state  of  Arkansas  and  other  states  to  reclaim  the  swamp  lands 
within  their  limits,'  approved  September  28,  A.  D.  1850,  and 
which  are  now  owned  by  this  state,  and  all  lands  now  owned  by 
this  state  which  were  selected  in  lieu  of  swamp  and  overflowed 
lands,  as  authorized  by  an  act  of  congress,  entitled  'an  act  for 
the  relief  of  purchasers  and  locators  of  swamp  and  overflowed 
lands,'  approved  March  2,  A.  D.  1855,  and  all  moneys  received 
irom  the  United  States  in  lieu  of  swamp  and  overflowed  lands 
under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  congress  last  aforesaid,  and  all 


254  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

moneys  received  by  this  state,  as  purchase  money,  for  swamp 
and  overflowed  lands,  and  for  lands  selected  as  aforesaid,  in  lieu 
of  swamp  and  overflowed  lands,  including  the  amounts  loaned 
and  invested,  together  with  all  sums  of  money  due  or  to  become 
due  as  balance  of  purchase  money  on  contract  for  the  sale  of 
such  swamp  lands  and  selected  lands,  shall,  after  deducting  the 
incidental  expenses  heretofore  paid  from  said  funds,  and  the 
losses  sustained  therefrom ,  as  near  as  they  can  be  conveniently 
ascertained,  be  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  the  one  part  to  be 
denominated  'the  normal  school  fund,'  and  the  other  to  be  de- 
nominated 'the  drainage  fund.'  In  making  the  partition  be- 
tween such  funds,  the  swamp  lands  and  moneys  receivable  on 
contracts  for  the  sale  of  swamp  lands  shall,  as  far  as  practicable, 
regard  being  had  to  the  mode  of  distribution  required  by  section 
six  of  this  act,  be  set  apart  to  the  drainage  fund  ;  and  the  mon- 
eys received  in  lieu  of  and  in  payment  of  lands  as  aforesaid,  in- 
cluding the  sums  invested  and  the  lands  selected  in  lieu  of 
swamp  lands,  and  the  moneys  receivable  on  contracts  for  the 
sale  of  such  selected  lands,  shall,  as  far  as  practicable,  be  set 
apart  to  the  normal  school  fund  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  making 
such  partition,  one  dollar  shall  he  taken  to  be  the  equivalent  of 
one  acre  of  such  lands. 

"Section  3.  All  the  swamp  and  overflowed  lands  which 
this  state  shall  hereafter  receive,  pursuant  to  said  act  of  congress, 
approved  September  28th,  A.  D.  1850,  shall,  on  receipt  thereof, 
be  partitioned  equally,  by  counties,  between  the  drainage 
fund  and  the  normal  school  fund,  and  the  part  known  as  drain- 
age fund  shall  be  set  apart  to  the  counties  respectively  in  which 
such  lands  lie,  to  be  used  and  applied  as  the  other  drainage 
fund  belonging  to  such  counties  is,  by  this  act,  directed  to  be 
used  and  applied.  And  all  the  moneys  which  this  state  shall 
hereafter  receive  fi'om  the  United  States,  in  lieu  of  SAvamp  and 
overflowed  lands,  shall,  on  receipt  thereof,  be  equally  divided 
between  the  drainage  ftmd  and  the  normal  school  fund  ;  and 
that  part  which  is  known  as  the  drainage  fund  shall  be  distrib- 
uted to  the  several  counties  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  acres 
of  swamp  land  therein,  and  shall  be  used  and  applied  as  the 
other  drainage  fiind  belonging  to  such  counties  is,  by  this  act, 
directed  to  be  used  and  applied. 

"Section  4.  The  land  belonging  to  the  normal  school  fund 
shall  be  sold,  and  the  moneys  arising  from  such  sales,  and  all 
other  moneys  belonging  to  the  fund,  shall  be  invested  in  the 
same  manner  and  by  the  same  officers  as  now  provided  by  law 
for  the  sale  and  investment  of  the  school  fund. 

"Section  5.     The  income  of  the  normal  school  fund  shall  be 
applied   to   establishing,    supporting  and   maintaining  normal 
schools,  under  the  direction  and  management  of  the  board  o 
normal  school  regents :  provided  that  twenty-five  per  cent,  o 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  255 

said  income  shall  be  annually  transferred  to  the  school  fund  in- 
come, until  the  annual  income  of  the  school  fund  shall  reach 
the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars." 

The  remaining  sections  of  the  act  relate  to  the  location 
and  division  of  the  lands,  and  the  application  of  the  drain- 
age fund. 

PARTITION    OF    THE    LANDS. 

Hon.  G.  D.  Elwood,  of  Princeton,  who  had  been  the 
active  champion  of  the  bill  in  the  senate,  was  appointed  by 
the  commissioners  of  school  and  university  lands  to  make 
the  division  of  the  lands  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  the 
act.  In  their  report  for  1865,  the  commissioners  say:  "The 
division  was  the  work  of  great  study  and  labor,  occupying 
several  months.  In  order  to  accomplish  it  faithfully  and 
correctly,  according  to  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  law,  we 
availed  ourselves  of  the  services  of  Hon.  G.  De  Witt  Elwood, 
to  whose  skill,  industry,  good  judgment  and  accuracy  we  are 
chiefly  indebted  for  the  excellent  execution  of  the  details  of 
the  work." 

The  allotment  of  the  normal  school  fund  was,  in  round 
numbers,  $600,000  in  cash  and  dues,  and  500,000  acres  of 
land,  estimated  in  the  law  at  one  dollar  per  acre,  with  other 
lands  not  yet  put  in  market. 

Thus  the  board  of  regents  started  out  in  its  new  course 
with  a  productive  fund,  already  in  hand,  of  about  $600,000, 
with  a  net  annual  income  of  over  $30,000,  with  a  certain 
increase  so  fast  as  the  lands  should  be  sold. 

FURTHER    LEGISLATIVE    ACTION. 

The  board  of  regents  of  normal  schools  was  incorporated, 
and  its  various  powers  were  fully  defined,  by  legislative  act 
in  1866.  In  1869,  the  laws  relating  to  normal  instruction 
were  codified.  In  1870,  the  annual  transfer  of  twenty-five 
per  cent,  of  the  normal  school  fund  income  to  the  school 
fund  income,  as  required  by  section  5  of  the  act  of  1865,  was 
stopped;  and  since  that  time  the  normal  fund  has  remained 
intact,  and  its  income  has  been  wholly  devoted  to  the  pur- 
poses of  normal  instruction,  in  the  establishment  and  sup- 
port of  normal  schools  and  teachers'  institutes. 

PRESENT   RESOURCES. 

The  total  productive  fund,  July  1,  1892,  was  $1,782,500. 
And  more  than  $150,000,  including  sites  and  buildings,  have 
been  donated  by  the  several  towns  in  which  the  five  normal 
schools  now  in  operation  are  located. 


256  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

The  income  from  the  fund,  for  the  year  ending  July  1, 
1892,  was  about  $95,000,  to  which  must  be  added  about 
$13,500  of  local  receipts  at  the  schools.  There  is  also  a 
standing  annual  appropriation  from  the  general  fund  of  the 
state  of  $2,000,  for  the  partial  support  of  teachers'  institutes, 
and  $10,000  for  the  partial  support  of  the  Milwaukee  nor- 
mal school,  thus  aggregating  an  annual  revenue  of  about 
$120,500. 

In  1891,  the  legislature  appropriated  $20,000  for  the  en- 
largement of  the  buildings  at  Platteville  and  Whitewater, 
this  being  the  first  contribution  from  the  general  fund  of 
the  state  for  building  purposes. 

There  are  yet  unsold  (1892)  about  240,000  acres  of  land, 
which  will,  in  time,  considerably  increase  the  fund.  This 
fund,  like  all  the  school  funds  of  the  state,  is  under  the  con- 
trol of  a  board  called  the  commissioners  of  school  and  uni- 
versity lands,  and  composed  of  the  secretary  of  state,  the 
state  treasurer,  and  the  attorney-general.  This  board  has 
charge  of  the  sale  of  lands,  and  the  investment  of  the  funds, 
which  is  largely  in  the  way  of  loans  to  towns,  school  dis- 
tricts, etc.,  though  the  state  itself  is  the  principal  debtor  to 
the  school  funds. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE    BOARD    OF    REGENTS. 

"The  board  of  regents  of  normal  schools  of  Wiscon- 
sin" was  constituted  by  the  act  of  1 857,  and  consists  of  two 
ex-officio  and  nine  appointed  members.  The  nine  are 
appointed  by  the  governor,  by  and  with  the  approval  of  the 
senate.  Their  term  of  office  is  three  years  and  until  their 
successoi's  are  appointed  and  confirmed;  and  they  are  di- 
vided into  three  classes,  so  that  the  term  of  office  of  one 
class  expires  each  year.  The  ex-officio  members  are  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  state  and  the  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion. The  officers  of  the  board  are  a  president,  vice-presi- 
dent and  secretary,  who  are  elected  each  year.  The  state 
treasurer  is  ex-officio  treasurer  of  the  board. 

The  board  holds  two  regular  meetings  each  year,  the 
annual  meeting  required  by  law,  on  the  second  Wednesday 
of  July,  and  the  semi-annual  meeting  on  the  first  Wednes- 
day in  February.  Special  meetings  ma}^  be  called  by  the 
president  of  the  board  or  governor,  on  petition  of  any 
three  members. 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  257 

The  board  is  a  body  corporate,  and  has  full  control  and 
direction  of  the  locating,  building,  supplying  and  operating 
the  schools,  of  the  school  property,  and  of  the  income  of  the 
normal  school  fund,  but  not  of  the  fund  itself,  which  is 
underthe  control  of  the  "commissioners  of  school  and  univer- 
sity lands."  The  members  of  the  board  receive  no  compen- 
sation for  their  services  except  for  "specific  service  rendered 
under  the  direction  of  the  board,  other  than  attending  the 
meetings' thereof,"  and  actual  expenses  in  attending  the  meet- 
ings or  performing  other  service  directed  to  be  performed. 

The  president  of  the  board  is  required  to  make  a  bien- 
nial report  to  the  governor  of  the  state,  and  an  annual  re- 
port to  the  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  giving  a  de- 
tailed account  of  the  doings,  expenditures,  etc.,  of  the  board. 

THE   ORIGINAL    MEMBERSHIP   OF    THE    BOARD. 

The  original  board  was  appointed  by  Governor  Coles 
Bashford  in  1857,  and  consisted  of  the  following  members : 

Edward  Cooke,  J.  G.  McKindley,  A,  C.  Spicer,  Alfred 
Brunson,  Noah  H.  Virgin,  J.  J.  Enos,  S.  A.  Bean,  M.  P.  Kin- 
ney and  D.  Y.  Kilgore. 

The  first  meeting  was  held  in  the  assembly  chamber,  at 
Madison,  on  July  5th,  1857,  when  the  oath  of  office  was  ad- 
ministered by  Associate  Justice  A.  D.  Smith,  of  the  supreme 
court.  The  officers  elected  were :  Rev.  Martin  P.  Kinney, 
of  Racine,  president;  Dr.  Edward  Cooke,  of  Appleton, 
vice-president ;  D.  Y.  Kilgore,  of  Madison,  secretary.  This 
board  proceeded  with  its  duties  through  the  remainder  of 
the  year,  though  the  members  had  been  appointed  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  legislature,  and  so  not  confirmed. 

January  28,  1858,  their  names  were  sent  to  the  senate, 
for  confirmation,  by  Governor  A.  W.  Randall.  On  February 
12,  the  senate  proceeded  to  confirm  the  appointments  indi- 
vidually ;  but  after  several  had  been  confirmed,  the  whole 
matter  was  reconsidered,  and  the  entire  list  was  returned  to 
the  governor  with  the  information  that  the  senate  refused  to 
confirm,  on  the  ground  that  the  members  were  not  properly 
distributed  throughout  the  state.  Perhaps  there  was  some 
other  reason  back  of  that. 

On  Februar}'  25,  1858,  Governor  Randall  nominated  an 
entirely  new  board,  as  follows : 

Terms  expire  January  1,  1859 — C.  C.  Sholes,  Kenosha 
county  ;  Julius  T,  Clark,  Dane  county ;  L.  H.  Gary,  She- 
boygan county. 


258  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Terms  expire  January  1, 1860 — John  Hodgson,  Wauke- 
sha county  ;  James  H.  Howe,  Brown  county ;  Hamner  Rob- 
bins,  Grant  county. 

Terms  expire  January  1,  1861 — Silas  Chapman,  Mil- 
waukee county ;  0.  T.  Maxson,  Pierce  county ;  Wm.  E. 
Smith,  Dodge  county. 

All  were  confirmed  by  the  senate  March  3,  1859. 

The  new  board  held  its  first  meeting  at  Madison,  March 
25,  1858,  and  organized  by  the  election  of  C.  C.  Sholes,  of 
Kenosha,  as  president:  Wm.  E.  Smith,  of  Fox  Lake,  vice- 
president  ;  and  Julius  T.  Clark,  of  Madison,  secretary. 

Messrs.  Howe  and  Hodgson  did  not  enter  into  the  work 
of  the  board,  but  soon  resigned,  and  their  places  were  filled 
by  two  of  the  original  board  which  had  been  appointed  by 
Governor  Bashford,  viz.:  Dr.  Edward  Cooke,  of  Appleton, 
and  Sidney  A.  Bean,  of  Waukesha. 

The  following  gentlemen  have  been  members  of  the 
board  at  some  time  since  the  rejection  of  the  original  nine ; 

MEMBERSHIP    OF   THE    BOARD    OF    REGENTS. 

Governor  A.  W.  Randall,  ex-officio 1858-62 

State  Superintendent  L.  C.  Draper,  ex-officio 1858-60 

C.  C.  Sholes,  Kenosha 1858-67 

Julius  T.  Clark,  Madison 1858-67 

Luther  H.  Gary,  Greenbush 1858-62 

John  Hodgson,  Waukesha 1858 

Dr.  Edward  Cooke,  Appleton 1859 

Jas.  H.  Howe,  Green  Bay 1858 

Hamner  Robbins,  Platteville 1858-72 

Silas  Chapman,  Milwaukee 1858-67 

0.  T.  Maxson,  Prescott 1858-64 

AVm.  E.  Smith,  Fox  Lake  and  Milwaukee 1858-76,  1878-82 

Sidnev  A.  Bean,  Waukesha 1859-63 

Jacob"  West,  Evansville 1860 

State  Superintendent  J.  L.  Pickard,  ex-officio 1860-64 

Edward  Daniels,  Ripon 1860-63 

Governor  Louis   P.    Harvev,   ex-officio,    January  5  to 

April  19 ! 1862 

Rev.  J.  I.  Foote,  Footeville 1862-65 

Governor  Edward  Salomon,   ex-officio 1862-64 

Governor  James  T.   Lewis ,  ex-officio 1864-66 

State  Superintendent  J.  G.  McMynn,  ex-officio 1864-68 

Wm.  Starr,  Ripon 1864-79 

Jno.  E.  Thomas,  Sheboygan  Falls 1864-70 

Geo.  Griswold,  Columbus 1864-66 

S.    A.  White,  WhiteAvater 1865-70,  1874-77 

Governor  Lucius  Fairchild,  ex-officio 1866-72 


SKETCH  OP  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  259 

Henry  Kleinpell,  Sauk  City 1866-67 

Henry  Lines,  Oshkosh 1867-70 

Nelson  Williams,  Stoughton 1867-70 

Rev.  William  C.  Whitford,  Milton 1867-75,    1878-82 

State  Superintendent  A.  J.  Craig,  ex-officio 1868-70 

Allen  H.  Weld,  River  Falls 1868-77 

T.  D.  Weeks,  Whitewater 1870-74,  1877-89 

James  I.  Lyndes,  La  Crosse 1870-76 

Samuel  Gary,  Oshkosh 1870-74 

State  Superintendent  Samuel  Fallows,  ex-officio 1870-74 

W.  H.  Chandler,  Sun  Prairie 1871-92 

Governor  C.  C.  Washburn,  ex-officio 1872-74 

J.  H.  Evans,  Platteville 1872-90 

Governor  Wm .  R.  Ta3dor,  ex-officio 1874-76 

State  Superintendent  Edward  Searing,  ex-officio 1874-78 

Charles  A.  Weisbrod,  Oshkosh 1874-76 

F.  W.  Cotzhausen,  Milwaukee 187.5-78 

Governor  Harrison  Ludington,  ex-officio 187(>-78 

John  Phillips,  Stevens  Point 1876-91 

S.  S.  Sherman,  Milwaukee 1876-79 

Samuel  M.  Hay,  Oshkosh 1876-91 

A.  D.  Andrews,  River  Falls 1877-86 

State  Superintendent  Wm.  C.  Whitford,  ex-officio 1878-82 

Governor  Wm.  E.  Smith,  ex-officio 1878-82 

Carl  Doerflinger,  Milwaukee 1878-82 

James  MacAlister,  Milwaukee 1879-83 

A.  0.  Wright,  Fox  Lake  1879-81 

Charles  A.  Hutchins,  Fond  du  Lac 1881-90 

State  Superintendent  Robert  Graham,  ex-officio 1882-87 

Governor  J.  M.  Rusk,  ex-officio 1882-89 

G.  E.  Gordon,  Milwaukee 1882-87 

Emil  Wallber,  Milwaukee 1883-89 

Charles  V.  Guy,  River  Falls 1886-92 

State  Superintendent  Jesse  B.  Thayer,  ex-officio 1887-91 

Wm.  E.  Anderson,  Milwaukee 1887-90 

Governor  W.  D.  Hoard,  ex-officio 1889-91 

E.  M.  Johnson,  Whitewater 1889-00 

J.  E.  Singer,  Milwaukee 1890-91 

Michael  Kirwan,  Manitowoc 1890-00 

M.  A.  Thayer,  Sparta 1890-91 

Governor  George  W.  Peck,  ex-officio 1891-00 

State  Superintendent  O.  E.  Wells,  ex-officio 1891-00 

Geo.  W.  Cate,  Stevens  Point 1891-92 

Dennis  J.  Gardner,   Platteville 1891-00 

Ira  A.  Hill,  Sparta 1891-00 

Jno.  W.  Hume,  Oshkosh 1891-00 

Jacob  Mendel,  Milwaukee 1891-92 

F.  P.  Ainsworth,  River  Falls 1892-00 


260  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Bernard  Goldsmith,  Milwaukee 1892-00 

\V.  D.  Parker,  Madison 1892-00 

Byron  B.  Park,  Stevens  Point 1892-00 

SPECIAL    MENTION    OF    PROMINENT    MEMBERS. 

Special  mention  can  be  made  of  only  a  few  of  the  more 
active  and  influential  members.  Of  the  ex-officio  members, 
the  state  superintendents  have  been,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  uniformly  active  and  intelligent  regents.  Of  the  gov- 
ernors, most  have  not  actually  identified  themselves  with 
the  work  of  the  board.  But  two,  Lucius  Fairchild  and  Wm. 
E.  Smith,  will  be  remembered  as  among  the  most  wise,  ener- 
getic and  useful  friends  of  normal  schools.  They  actively 
participated  in  all  the  labors  of  the  board. 

The  first  president  of  the  board  was  Honorable  C.  C. 
Sholes,  of  Kenosha,  who  served  in  that  capacity  from  1858 
until  his  death,  October  5,  1867.  He  was  succeeded  by  Hon- 
orable Wm.  Starr,  who  stamped  his  strong  individuality 
upon  all  the  work  of  the  board  until  his  death  in  April,  1879. 
The  next  president  was  Honorable  J.  H.  Evans,  of  Platte- 
ville,  who  presided  eleven  years,  retiring  from  the  board  in 
1890.  Honorable  John  W.  Hume,  of  Oshkosh,*  was  chosen 
to  succeed  Mr.  Evans,  being  the  fourth  president  only,  in 
over  a  third  of  a  century. 

Silas  Chapman,  of  Milwaukee,  was  the  efficient  secre- 
tary of  the  board  for  nearly  nine  years.  Several  state  super- 
intendents also  served  in  this  capacity  ;  but  in  1878,  Honor- 
able Willard  H.  Chandler,  of  Sun  Prairie,  was  chosen  secretary, 
and  held  that  office  until  his  retirement  from  the  board  in 
1892,  after  an  active  membership  of  twenty-one  years.  On 
his  resignation  of  the  secretaryship,  the  following  resolution 
was  unanimoush'  adopted  by  the  board  : 

"  Whereas,  W.  H.  Chandler,  for  many  years  a  member  and 
secretary  of  this  board,  has  just  retired  therefrom,  and  tenders 
his  resignation  of  the  secretaryship, 

"Resolved,  That  in  accepting  such  resignation,  it  is  the 
sense  of  the  board  that  as  such  member  and  secretary  the  ser\ace 
of  Mr.  Chandler  to  the  normal  schools  of  this  state,  in  their 
establishment,  extension  and  maintenance,  and  in  the  improve- 
ment and  supervision  of  the  instruction  given,  and  in  his  efforts 
which  have  materially  contributed  to  make  these  schools  efficient 
and  prosperous  to  a  degree  Avhich  will  bear  favorable  compari- 
son with  like  schools  elsewhere,  as  well  as  in  moulding  and 
directing  the  institute  work  of  the  state  for  manv  years,  has  been  ot 
inestimable  value  to  this  board  and  to  the  public  school  system 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  261 

of  Wisconsin,  and  that  such  services  merit  and  should  receive  the 
cordial  recognition  and  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  board 
and  the  friends  of  public  education  throughout  the  state." 

Mr.  Chandler  was  succeeded  as  secretary  by  Professor 
Warren  D.  Parker,  formerly  president  of  the  River  Falls 
normal  school,  who  is  the  first  officer  of  the  board  to  devote 
his  whole  time  to  its  service. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

LOCATION    AND    OPENING    OF    THE    SCHOOLS. 

After  the  passage  of  the  act  of  1865,  it  soon  became 
evident  that  normal  schools  would  be  established  at  several 
points  in  the  state ;  and  different  localities  at  once  began  io 
press  their  claims. 

The  board  of  regents,  after  due  deliberation,  adopted 
the  plan  of  locating  a  school,  eventually,  in  each  of  the  con- 
gressional districts  of  the  state,  which  were  then  six  in 
number.  They  early  visited  and  examined  several  of  the 
competing  localities  and  received  proposals  from  them  ;  but 
no  decisive  action  was  taken  until  February  28,  1866,  when 
it  was  voted  to  locate  schools  at  Whitewater  and  Plattevillc. 
A  building  committee  was  appointed  and  instructed  to  pro- 
cure plans,  etc.,  for  the  building  at  Whitewater.  On  the  2d 
of  May,  the  transfers  of  title  to  the  sites  were  completed,  and 
the  building  committee  was  instructed  to  proceed  to  the 
erection  of  the  building. 

Proposals  had  been  laid  before  the  board  from  no  less 
than  sixteen  cities  and  villages,  making  offers  of  sites  and 
various  amounts  of  money.  At  this  meeting  of  the  board. 
May  2,  1866,  Oshkosh,  Stoughton  and  Sheboygan  were  se- 
lected as  points,  in  their  respective  congressional  districts, 
for  the  opening  of  schools  in  the  future. 

As  the  donation  from  Platteville  included  the  building 
and  grounds  of  the  Platteville  academy,  the  board  were 
enabled  to  open  that  school  on  the  9th  of  October,  in  the 
same  year.  Professor  Chas.  H.  Allen,  then  in  charge  of  the 
normal  department  of  the  university,  had  been  elected 
principal. 

The  first  normal  school  faculty  in  Wisconsin  was  con- 
stituted as  follows : 

Chas.  H.  Allen,  principal. 

Jacob  Wernli,  assistant  principal. 

Geo.  M.  Guernsey,  professor  of  mathematics. 


262  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

Fanny  S.  Joslyn,  teacher  of  geography,  history  and 
physiology. 

Esther  M.  Sprague,  principal  of  model  department;  and 
we  shall  do  no  wrong  to  add 

Henry  Treganowan,  janitor. 

Mr.  Wernli  was  a  graduate  of  the  normal  school  at 
Wettingen,  Canton  Aargau,  Switzerland,  and  had  served 
with  marked  success  as  school  superintendent  of  Waupaca 
county,  in  this  state.  Mr.  Guernsey  had  been  previously 
principal  of  the  Platteville  academy  and,  before  that,  a  pro- 
fessor at  Milton  academy. 

During  the  first  term  60  pupils  were  enrolled  in  the 
normal  department,  14  in  the  preparatory  class,  and  38  in 
the  model  school.  During  the  year  first  following  there  were 
in  attendance,  for  some  part  of  the  year,  219  students,  ex- 
clusive of  the  model  school. 

The  capacity  of  the  academy  building  being  too  limited 
for  the  work  of  the  school,  the  board  had  entered  upon  the 
erection  of  a  new  building,  which  was  completed  at  a  cost 
of  about  $20,000  and  was  opened  with  appropriate  cere- 
monies on  the  9th  of  September,  1868.  Among  the  visitors 
present  at  the  dedicatory  exercises  was  General  U.  S.  Grant. 

The  completion  of  the  normal  school  building  at  White- 
water was  greatly  delayed,  by  various  causes  ;  but  it  was  at 
length  at  dedicated  April  21,  1868.  Professor  Oliver  Arey 
had  previously  been  elected  principal  and  was  present  at 
the  dedication.  The  dedicatory  exercises  consisted  of  a 
brief  historical  sketch  of  the  normal  school  enterprise  in 
the  state,  by  Honorable  Wm.  Starr,  president  of  the  board  of 
regents ;  an  address  by  the  principal,  showing  what  a  nor- 
mal school  ought  to  be  and  do ;  and  addresses  by  the  promi- 
nent educational  men  from  various  parts  of  the  state,  includ- 
ing State  Superintendent  A.  J.  Craig.  During  this  first,  and 
as  it  were,  preliminary  term,  48  pupils  were  enrolled  in  the 
normal  department,  and  102  in  the  model  school.  For  the 
second  term,  which  opened  on  September  1,  1868,  the  enroll- 
ment was  105  in  the  normal  department,  and  98  in  the 
model  school. 

THE    FACULTY    AT    WHITEWATER. 

The  original  faculty  was  composed  of : 
Oliver   Arey,  principal   and   professor  of  mental  and 
moral  philosophy,  and  theory  and  practice  of  teaching. 
J.  T.  Lovewell,  professor  of  mathematics  and  Latin. 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  264 

Mrs.  H.  E.  G.  Arey,  preceptress  and  teacher  of  English 
literature,  French  and  drawing. 

Miss  Emily  J.  Bryant,  teacher  of  history,  grammar  and 
geography. 

Dr.  H.  H.  Greenman,  teacher  of  vocal  music. 

Miss  Virginia  Deichman,  teacher  of  instrumental 
music. 

Miss  Catherine  H.  Lilly,  teacher  and  critic  in  the  gram- 
mar department. 

Miss  Ada  Hamilton,  teacher  and  critic  in  the  intermediate 
department. 

Miss  Sarah  A.  Stewart,  teacher  and  critic  in  the  primary 
department. 

Besides  the  regular  faculties  of  the  two  schools  now  in 
operation,  Mrs.  Anna  T.  Randall  (Diehl),  of  Oswego,  N.  Y., 
was  employed  for  a  time  to  give  instruction  in  reading  and 
elocution  at  both  schools. 

FIRST  GRADUATING  CLASSES  AT  PLATTEVILLE  AND  WHITEWATER 

In  June,  1869,  the  Platteville  school  graduated  its  first 
class,  in  the  full  or  advanced  course.  As  being  the  first 
graduating  class  from  a  normal  school  in  Wisconsin,  their 
names  are  given,  viz.:  Lewis  Funk,  Melvin  Grigsby,  Andrew 
J.  Hutton,  Richard  H.  Jones,  James  Rait,  Edward  H.  Sprague, 
Ella  Marshall,  Alvena  E.  Schroeder. 

In  June,  1870,  the  Whitewater  school  graduated  its  first 
class,  six  in  number.  A  class  of  fifteen  was  graduated  at 
Platteville. 

OPENING    OF   THE    OSHKOSH   SCHOOL. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  board,  June,  1868,  arrangements 
were  made  for  procuring  plans  for  a  building  for  the  nor- 
mal school  which  had  been  located  at  Oshkosh,  and  the 
contract  for  its  erection  was  made  in  January,  1869.  The 
building  was  completed  in  the  summer  of  1870,  but  for  lack 
of  funds  to  furnish  it  and  pay  salaries,  the  opening  of  the 
school  was  delayed  for  another  year. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board  of  regents,  held  June 
6,  1871,  George  S.  Albee,  superintendent  of  the  Racine  city 
schools,  and  a  graduate  of  Michigan  university,  was  elected 
•president  of  the  Oshkosh  school.  In  July  of  the  same  year, 
Prof.  Robert  Graham,  a  graduate  of  the  Albany  normal 
school,  and  widely  and  favorably  known  as  conductor  of 
institutes  for  the  normal  board,  was  chosen  as  teacher  in 
the  normal  department,  and  director  of  the  model  school. 


presibent  aibcrt  Salisburi?* 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Albert  Salisbury,  was  born  in 
Rock  county,  Wisconsin,  January  24th,  1843.  He  represents  a 
type  of  scholarship  and  manhood  that  is  jieculiarly  Western, 
and  characteristic  of  the  energy  and  directness  which  distin- 
guishes the  true  Western  teacher  from  the  more  conventional 
product  of  Eastern  institutions.  His  education  was  begun  in 
the  public  schools  of  this  state,  and  perfected  in  Milton  college, 
an  institution  which  is  distinguished  for  the  number  of  leading 
teachers  and  energetic  pioneers  of  education  sent  into  the  public 
schools  of  Wisconsin  duriag  the  past  twenty  years.  He  began 
his  career  as  a  teacher  in  1866  in  a  country  district. 

This  experience,  with  a  love  for  the  work  and  great  natural 
aptitude,  prepared  him  for  the  position  of  principal  of  the  high 
school  at  Brodhead.  Here  he  was  very  successful,  but  re- 
mained only  from  September,  1870,  till  March,  1873,  when  he 
was  called  to  take  the  position  of  conductor  of  institutes  in  the 
Whitewater  normal  school.  He  resigned  this  position  to  take 
charge  of  the  schools  of  the  American  missionary  association, 
but  after  three  years,  in  1885,  he  re-entered  the  Whitewater 
normal  school  as  president. 

Mr.  Salisbury  has  been  conspicuously  able  and  diligent  in 
the  state  teachers'  association  and  in  the  work  of  institutes. 
As  president  of  the  normal  school,  he  has  displayed  marked 
ability  as  an  organizer  and  director  of  the  work  of  training 
teachers.  His  experience  in  the  common  schools  and  as  insti- 
tute conductor  brought  him  face  to  face  with  the  real  problems 
of  teaching  common  schools,  and  thus  equipped  him  with  re- 
sources which  have  been  invaluable  to  the  great  work  he  has 
accomplished  in  the  school  at  Whitewater. 

His  strongest  characteristics  are  a  firm  and  self-reliant  in- 
dividuality, a  clear  grasp  of  the  essence  of  the  leading  questions 
of  practical  pedagogy,  a  facility  in  illustration  and  demonstra- 
tion of  the  logic  of  method  in  elementary  education  and  school 
management,  and,  withal,  an  enthusiastic  devotion  to  his  call- 
ing which  at  once  inspires  and  encourages  his  pupils  to  emulate 
the  highest  and  best  ideals  of  the  teacher. 

W.  E.  A. 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  265 

The  original  faculty  at  Oslikosh  was  as  follows  : 

George  S.  Albee,  president,  teacher  of  mental  and  social 
science,  and  school  economy. 

Robert  Graham,  teacher  of  reading  and  music. 

D.  E.  Holmes,  teacher  of  natural  science. 

Anna  W.  Moody,  teacher  of  rhetoric  and  mathematics. 

Mrs.  D.  E.  Holmes,  teacher  of  geography  and  history, 

Martha  E.  Hazard,  teacher  of  grammar  and  physical 
culture. 

Robert  Graham,  director  of  the  model  school. 

Maria  S.  Hill,  teacher  in  grammar  department. 

Rose  C.  Swart,  teacher  in  primary  department. 

The  school  opened  September  12,  1871,  with  an  enroll- 
ment in  the  normal  department  of  forty-six  pupils,  which 
was  soon  largely  increased.  The  buildings  were  dedicated 
on  the  19th  of  the  same  month.  Addresses  were  delivered 
by  President  Starr  and  Hon.  W.  C.  Whitford  and  xV.  H. 
Weld,  of  the  board  of  regents ;  President  Albee,  of  the 
school ;  State  Superintendent  Fallows,  and  several  others. 

The  enrollment  of  students  for  the  first  term  was,  in 
the  normal  department,  97 ;  model  school,  92 ;  total,  189. 

TOUR  OF  BOARD   OF  REGENTS   TO   LOCATE   THE   FOURTH   SCHOOL. 

In  Jul}'^,  1871,  the  board  of  regents,  including  Governor 
Lucius  Fairchild,  made  a  tour  of  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  state,  for  the  purpose  of  locating  the  fourth  normal 
school,  toward  which  they  were  now  beginning  to  look  ;  the 
action  in  reference  to  Stoughton  and  Sheboygan  having 
been  annulled.  Of  their  eventful  experiences  by  field  and 
flood,  over  corduroy  and  sand  plain,  the  time  sufficeth  not 
to  tell.  But  as  a  result  of  their  tour  of  inspection  the  fourth 
school  was  located  at  River  Falls,  in  the  St.  Croix  valley,  by 
action  of  the  board  in  January,  1872. 

In  January,  1874,  plans  were  adopted  for  the  River 
Falls  normal  school  building  ;  and  the  contract  was  soon 
awarded  for  its  erection. 

PROF.  C.  H.  ALLEN,    CONDUCTOR  OF  INSTITUTES. 

After  the  election  of  Prof.  Graham  to  the  Oslikosh 
faculty,  his  place  had  been  taken  as  conductor  of  institutes 
by  Prof.  C.  H.  Allen,  former  president  of  the  Platteville 
school,  who  had  lately  returned  from  the  Pacific  coast.  He 
continued  in  this  service  from  July,  1871,  till  September, 
1872,  when  he  resigned,  to  accept  a  position  in  the  normal 


^266 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 


school  at  San  Jose,  California ;  and  Prof.  Graham  resumed 
the  institute  work  in  connection  with  his  work  in  the  school. 
In  January,  1873,  the  regents  reorganized  the  institute 
work,  dividing  the  state  into  three  institute  districts,  and 
assigning  one  professor  from  each  school  to  conduct  insti- 
tutes in  his  own  district.  In  pursuance  of  this  arrange- 
ment, Prof.  Duncan  McGregor  was  designated  as  institute 
conductor  for  the  first  or  Platteville  district ;  and  Albert 
Salisbury  was  added  to  the  Whitewater  faculty,  March  1st, 
1873,  as  conductor  for  the  second  district. 


NORMAL   SCHOOL,    RIVER   FALLS,    WIS. 


opp:ning  of  the  river  falls  school. 

In  July,  1874,  Warren  D.  Parker,  of  the  Janesville  city 
schools,  was  elected  president  of  the  River  Falls  normal 
school,  his  service  to  begin  September  1,  1875. 

The  building,  the  largest  and  best  appointed  of  any  yet 
erected  by  the  board,  was  dedicated  September  2nd,  1875. 
Addresses  were  made  by  Honorable  Wm.  Starr,  President  W. 
D.  Parker,  State  Superintendent  Searing,  and  Honorable  W. 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  267 

H.  Cliandler.  The  school  opened  with  a  larger  attendance 
than  had  been  received  by  any  of  the  other  schools  at  their 
opening.  When  fairly  in  operation,  there  were  enrolled  in 
the  normal  department,  1j04;  in  the  model  school,  155; 
total,  259. 

The  original  faculty  was  constituted  as  follows  : 

Warren  D.  Parker,  president. 

Jesse  B.  Thaj^er,  teacher  of  mathematics  and  conductor 
of  institutes. 

Albert  Earth  man,  teacher  of  geography  and  music. 

Lucy  E.  Foote,  preceptress,  teacher  of  reading. 

Laura  G.  Lovell,  teacher  of  histor3^ 

Margaret  Hosford,  teacher  of  grammar  and  rhetoric. 

Emily  Wright,  teacher  grammar  grade. 

Mary  A.  Kelly,  teacher  intermediate  grade. 

Lizzie  J.  Curtis,  teacher  primary  grade. 

THE  MILWAUKEE  SCHOOL. 

The  opening  and  maintenance  of  the  fourth  normal 
school,  together  with  the  enlargements  made  necessary  by 
the  gro^vih  of  the  older  schools,  absorbed  so  nearly  the 
whole  revenue  of  the  board  as  to  prevent,  for  some  years, 
the  establishment  of  another  school.  Meanwhile  the  city  of 
Milwaukee  had  been  maintaining  a  city  training  school  for 
the  recruiting  of  its  own  corps  of  public  school  teachers.  A 
movement  at  length  took  shape  for  devolving  this  work 
upon  the  state  instead  of  the  city;  and  in  1880  an  act  of 
the  legislature  was  secured  which  made  it  "the  duty  of  the 
board  of  regents  of  normal  schools  to  establish  an  additional 
normal  school  in  the  city  of  Milwaukee  ....  and  to 
proceed  to  organize  and  conduct  the  same  without  impairing 
the  efficiency  of  the  normal  schools  already  established  . 
as  soon  as  said  board  shall  in  its  own  judgment  be  able  to  pro- 
vide from  the  funds  at  its  disposal  for  the  maintenance  of  said 
school  in  said  city  of  Milwaukee;  provided  the  said  city  of  Mil- 
waukee shall  donate  a  site  and  a  suitable  building  for  said  nor- 
mal school  in  said  city  of  Milwaukee,  the  location  and  plan  of 
said  buildings  to  be  approved  by  said  board  of  regents,  and  the 
said  site  and  building  to  be  together  of  a  value  not  less  than 
fifty  thousand  dollars." 

The  board  of  regents  did  not  much  welcome  or  encour- 
age this  movement,  notwithstanding  the  activity  and  persis- 
tence of  its  Milwaukee  member,  Hon.  James  McAlister, 
who  was  also  the  Milwaukee  city  superintendent  of  schools. 
The  reason  for  this  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  regents  lay 


268  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WLSCONSIN. 

in  their  financial  limitations ;  for  while  the  aggregate  of  the 
normal  school  fund  had  greatly  increased,  the  general 
shrinkage  of  interest  rates  and  the  increasing  difficulty  of 
making  profitable  investments '  of  public  funds  had  pre- 
vented any  corresponding  increase  in  the  income  at  the  dis- 
posal of  the  board. 

However,  in  July,  1881,  the  board  accepted  a  site  ten- 
dered by  the  city  of  Milwaukee.  Architect's  plans  were  ap- 
proved in  July,  1882.  In  February,  1884,  Regent  Emil 
Wallber  reported  to  the  board  that  $40,000  had  been  ap- 
propriated by  the  common  council  of  Milwaukee  for  the 
erection  of  the  building ;  and  in  June,  1885,  the  completed 
building  was  conveyed  by  the  city  to  the  board  of  regents. 
The  cost  to  the  city  of  the  property  conveyed  was  $52,000. 
The  financial  difficulties  of  the  board  with  respect  to  this 
school  had  just  been  solved  by  an  act  of  the  legislature 
(1885)  making  an  annual  appropriation  of  $10,000  to  the 
board  of  regents  for  the  maintaining  of  the  fifth  normal 
school,  this  being  the  first  appropriation,  in  the  history  of 
the  state,  of  funds  derived  from  taxation  to  the  support  of 
normal  schools. 

Professor  J.  J.  Mapel,  principal  of  the  Milwaukee  high 
school,  was  elected  president  of  the  fifth  normal  school. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  normal  board  in  July,  1885,  the 
conditions  for  admission  to  the  Milwaukee  school  were  estab- 
lished as  follows  : 

' '  The  terms  of  admission  to  the  state  normal  school  at  Mil- 
waukee shall  be  :  (a)  by  certificate  of  having  completed  the 
first  three  years  of  one  of  the  existing  courses  of  study  in  the  high 
school  at  Milwaukee,  excepting  trigonometry  ;  (b)  by  elementary 
certificate  from  any  normal  school  in  Wisconsin;  (c)  by  diploma 
from  such  free  high  schools  in  Wisconsin  as  have  adopted  the  four 
years'  English  and  scientific  courses  of  study  prescribed  by  the 
state  superintendent  for  such  schools  ;  (d)  by  examination  in 
the  branches  of  the  last  mentioned  course,  except  that  English 
history  be  substituted  for  theory  and  art  of  teaching." 

This  action  arose  from  the  conviction  of  the  board  that 
the  city  of  Milwaukee  presented  conditions  and  environment 
so  different  from  those  of  the  other  schools  as  to  permit  the 
omission  altogether  of  the  "  elementary  course,"  leaving  only 
the  advanced  course  of  two  years.  This  course  was  modified 
somewhat  in  its  details  from  the  advanced  course  of  the  other 
schools ;  although  the  board  premised,  at  the  same  time,  as 
follows : 


J^^JT^^ 


president  %.  W.  Ibarve^. 

Prof.  Harvey  began  teaching  in  the  district  schools  of  this 
state  in  the  year  1866,  while  taking  a  college  course.  After  a 
variety  of  experience  in  teaching  and  study  to  equip  himself  for 
his  chosen  profession,  he  was  called  to  take  charge  of  the  Mazo- 
manie  high  school,  where  he  performed  very  acceptable  service 
and  so  well  proved  his  ability  and  capacity  as  an  instructor  and 
disciplinarian  that  the  school  board  of  Sheboygan  secured  him 
to  take  charge  of  the  high  school  in  that  place.  For  five  years 
he  managed  that  school  with  signal  success,  but  then  resigned 
with  the  intention  of  following  the  practice  of  law.  He  was  not 
allowed,  however,  to  sever  his  connection  with  the  schools  en- 
tirely, for  the  position  of  city  superintendent  having  been 
created,  he  was  at  once  elected  to  that  office.  In  this  capacity 
he  labored  for  five  years  more,  when  he  again  returned  to  the 
Avork  of  teacliing  by  accepting  an  appointment  as  institute  con-' 
ductor  and  teacher  of  economics  and  civics  in  the  state  normal 
school  at  Oshkosh. 

Tliis  field  gave  Mr.  Harvey  larger  scope  for  his  abilities,  for 
he  was  required  to  visit  nearly  every  county  in  the  state  and  to 
hold  institutes  for  the  training  and  improvement  of  teachers 
em})loyed  in  the  district  schools. 

The  six  years  he  devoted  to  this  occasional  work,  together 
with  his  special  department  in  the  normal  school,  gave  him  the 
preparation  requisite  for  the  position  he  now  occupies,  viz., 
president  of  the  normal  school  in  Milwaukee. 

Prof.  Harvey  was  elected  to  this  place  in  the  spring  of  1892, 
at  first  as  temporary  president  bat  subsequently  as  the  perma- 
nent head  of  the  school.  He  is  therefore  the  youngest  of  the 
normal  school  presidents.  The  present  condition  of  the  school 
is  excellent  and  gives  promise  of  still  further  improvement  and 
greater  usefulness.  The  conduct  of  a  state  normal  school  in  a 
large  city  presents  opportunities  and  involves  questions  of  ad- 
nunistration  not  to  be  met  in  the  other  normal  schools  of  the 
state.  A  large  city  system  of  schools  in  the  immediate  locality, 
and  a  demand  for  a  continually  increasing  supply  of  well- 
trained  teachers,  together  with  the  very  natural  expectation 
that  the  head  of  the  normal  school  take  a  prominent  place  as  a 
leader  in  the  discussion  of  educational  questions  and  in  the  con- 
duct of  teachers  meetings,  imposes  obligations  requiring  not 
only  large  resources  and  versatility,  but  a  capacity  for  perform- 
ance that  few  possess.  That  Prof.  Harvey  is  the  man  for  this 
important  mission  is  the  confident  belief  of  all  who  have 
watched  his  career,  and  approve  his  accession  to  the  presidency 
of  the  state  normal  school  in  Milwaukee. 

W.  E.  A. 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  269 

"  The  diploma  of  all  the  normal  schools  in  Wisconsin  shall 
represent  essentially  a  uniform  l)readth  of  scholarship  and  pro- 
fessional training." 

The  new  school  opened  September  14,  1885,  with  the 
following  faculty : 

J.  J.  Mapel,  president,  teacher  of  psychology  and  peda- 
gogy- 
Alexander  Bevan,  teacher  of  mathematics  and  natural 

science. 

S.  Helen  Romaine,  teacher  of  English  language  and 
literature. 

Eleanor  Worthington,  teacher  of  geography  and  his- 
tory. 

Mary  S.  Gate,  teacher  of  methods  and  supervisor  of 
practice  teaching. 

Emily  W.  Strong,  critic  teacher  in  third  and  fourth 
grades. 

Dora  Hilliard,  critic  teacher  in  fifth  and  sixth  grades. 

Mary  Campbell,  critic  teacher  in  primary  grades. 

The  enrollment  of  the  school  in  its  first  year  was  46 
in  the  normal  department  and  112  in  the  model  school. 
In  June,  1886,  the  school  graduated  its  first  class  of  fifteen 
members,  these  having  been  in  attendance  but  one  year,  all 
having  previously  graduated  from  the  Milwaukee  high 
school. 

MORE  SCHOOLS   IN    PROSPECT. 

The  value  of  the  normal  schools  to  the  educational  in- 
terests of  the  state  is  now  so  well  approved  and  clearly  seen 
that  the  establishment  of  additional  schools  is  already  under 
discussion  by  the  people  of  the  state.  The  legislature  of 
1891  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  board  of  regents  to 
"  establish,  build,  equip  and  maintain  a  sixth  normal  school  in 
the  state  of  Wisconsin,  at  a  site  to  be  selected  by  said  board  in 
the  territory  north  of  the  north  line  of  township  number  twenty- 
four  north." 

No  action  has  been  taken  by  the  board  in  this  direction, 
however,  for  lack  of  sufficient  present  income  to  maintain 
more  schools  than  those  already  opened. 

At  the  present  session  of  the  legislature  (1893)  a  bill  has 
been  introduced  providing  for  the  establishment  of  two  new 
normal  schools,  and  appropriating  money  for  their  construc- 
tion and  support. 


270  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

CHAPTER  V. 

GROWTH   AND   DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   SCHOOLS. 
ADMINISTRATION. 

All  the  normal  schools  of  Wisconsin,  being  under  the 
general  management  of  one  board  and  supported  from  one 
fund,  have  naturally  developed  along  the  same  general  lines; 
though  enough  freedom  has  been  accorded  to  the  internal 
administration  of  each  school  to  bring  forth  a  definite  indi- 
viduality in  each.  But  the  scope  and  purpose  of  this  sketch 
does  not  justify  any  attempt  at  a  discussion  of  their  special 
individual  characteristics. 

The  Platteville  school  continued  under  the  presidency 
of  Charles  H.  Allen  but  four  years,  when  he  resigned  and 
went  to  the  Pacific  coast,  becoming,  later,  the  president  of 
the  San  Jose  (Cal.)  normal  school.  He  was  succeeded  at 
Platteville  by  Professor  Edwin  A.  Charlton,  of  Auburn,  N.Y., 
who  continued  at  the  head  of  the  school  from  1870  until 
January  1,  1879.  Professor  Duncan  McGregor  entered  the 
faculty  of  the  Platteville  school  at  the  beginning  of  its 
second  year,  August,  1867,  as  professor  of  mathematics.  In 
January,  1873,  he  was  designated  as  conductor  of  institutes 
for  the  first  district.  In  January,  1879,  he  became  president 
of  the  school,  which  has  continued  under  his  judicious  ad- 
ministration to  the  present  time,  a  period  of  fourteen  years, 
with  more  to  follow. 

The  first  president  of  the  Whitewater  school  was  Oliver 
Arey,  who  had  achieved  marked  success  in  building  up  the 
central  or  high  school  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  had  afterwards 
been  principal  of  the  Albany  normal  school.  Mrs.  H.  E. 
G.  Arey,  the  esteemed  and  gifted  helpmeet  of  the  principal, 
was  a  graduate  of  Oberlin  college  and  had  become  quite 
widely  known  through  various  literary  labors.  She  became 
preceptress  of  the  school,  teaching  in  various  lines. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arey  administered  the  school  with  signal 
efficiency  for  a  little  over  eight  years,  resigning  in  the  spring 
of  1876.  The  influence  of  their  positive  and  sterling  charac- 
ters left  an  enduring  mark  on  both  pupils  and  associate 
teachers. 

President  Arey  was  succeeded  in  the  fall  of  1876  by  Wil- 
liam F.  Phelps,  who  had  been  principal  of  the  Trenton  (N. 
J.)  normal  school,  and  for  many  years  at  the  head  of  the 
Winona  (Minn.)  normal  school,  coming  to  the  Whitewater 
school  in  the  fullness  of  experience  and  reputation.     He  re- 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOI.S  IN  W^SCONSIN.  271 

mained  at  Whitewater  but  two  3'ears,  liis  administration 
constituting  a  tumultuous  episode  of  whioli  it  is  difficult  to 
speak  with  justice  to  all  concerned. 

In  the  fall  of  1878,  Professor  J.  W.  Stearns,  LL.  D., 
came  to  the  presidency  of  the  school,  having  previously  been 
for  several  years  principal  of  a  government  normal  school  at 
Tucuman,  in  the  Argentine  Republic.  He  was,  before  that, 
a  professor  in  the  old  Chicago  university.  He  remained  in 
charge  six  and  one-half  years,  resigning  in  January,  1885, 
to  accept  the  chair  of  pedagogy  in  the  University  of  Wiscon- 
sin. His  administration  was  marked  by  broad  and  quick- 
ening impulses,  and  impressed  upon  the  school  certain 
characteristics  which  it  retains,  in  a  good  degree,  to  the 
present  time.  After  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Stearns,  Professor 
T.  B.  Pray  was  acting  president  for  an  interim  of  a  half- 
year. 

In  March,  1873,  Albert  Salisbury,  principal  of  the  Brod- 
head  high  school,  came  to  the  Whitewater  normal  school  as 
its  first  conductor  of  institutes,  and  the  third  of  the  original 
trio  of  state  institute  conductors.  He  continued  in  this  re- 
lation till  the  summer  of  1882,  when  he  went  to  the  South  as 
superintendent  of  schools  for  the  American  missionary 
association.  In  the  fall  of  1885,  he  returned  to  Whitewater, 
having  been  elected,  some  months  before,  to  the  presidency 
of  that  school,  which  position  he  still  holds. 

The  Oshkosh  school  has  been  more  fortunate  than  any 
of  its  sister  schools  in  continuit}'  of  administration.  Before 
the  opening  of  the  school,  in  1871,  George  S.  Albee,  principal 
of  the  Racine  high  school,  was  elected  to  its  presidency,  a 
position  which  he  has  held  with  great  and  increasing  accept- 
ance until  this  day,  a  wise  and  unbroken  administration  of 
over  twenty-two  years.  In  this  time,  the  school  has  grown  to 
be  the  largest  in  the  state  and  one  of  the  most  efficient  in  the 
whole  country. 

At  the  opening  of  the  Oshkosh  school.  Captain  Robert 
Graham,  who  had  become  widely  known  as  a  very  efficient 
conductor  of  institutes,  entered  the  faculty  as  director  of 
the  model  school.  He  also  rendered  valuable  service  to  the 
school  as  teacher  of  reading  and  vocal  music.  In  January, 
1873,  he  w^as  designated  as  the  first  regular  conductor  of 
institutes  under  the  system  which  has  ever  since  prevailed. 
He  continued  in  these  relations  until  he  became  state  super- 
intendent in  1882. 

The  first  president  of  the  River  Falls  school  was  Warren 


272  SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN. 

D.  Parker,  previously  principal  of  the  Janesville  city  schools. 
He  organized  the  school  on  a  very  thorough  basis  and  ad- 
ministered its  affairs  with  great  vigor  until  failing  health 
compelled  his  retirement  in  1889.  What  then  seemed  a 
great  loss  to  the  educational  interests  of  the  state  has  been 
offset  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Parker  has  now  become  a  member, 
and  the  secretary',  of  the  board  of  regents. 

He  was  succeeded  at  River  Falls  by  Prof.  J.  Q.  Emery, 
principal  of  the  Fort  Atkinson  high  school,  under  whose 
management  the  school  has  very  considerably  increased  its 
enrollment. 

At  the  opening  of  the  school  in  1875,  Jesse  B.  Thayer, 
principal  of  the  Menomonie  schools,  was  made  its  conductor 
of  institutes,  which  position  he  held  until  he  became  state 
superintendent,  in  1887.  The  River  Falls  school  comes 
nearest  to  the  Oshkosh  school,  therefore,  in  the  continuity 
and  unity  of  its  administration. 

Prof.  J.  J.  Mapel,  principal  of  the  Milwaukee  high 
school,  became  president  of  the  Milwaukee  normal  school  at 
its  opening  in  1885.  He  resigned  in  January,  1892 ;  and 
was  succeeded  by  Prof.  L.  D.  Harvey,  institute  conductor  at 
the  Oshkosh  normal  school.  The  first  institute  conductor  at 
Milwaukee  was  Prof.  Silas  Y.  Gillan,  who  held  his  position 
from  1886  to  1892. 

BUILDINGS  AND  EQUIPMENT. 

In  the  "sixties,''  when  the  normal  school  idea  was  first 
taking  practical  shape,  only  a  vague  conception  obtained  of 
what  the  legitimate  equipment  of  a  teachers'  training  school 
should  be.  Little  or  no  provision  was  therefore  made  of 
facilities  for  laboratory  work,  physical  training,  or  drawing ; 
and,  even  for  the  commoner  needs  and  the  most  natural  ex- 
pectation of  growth,  the  prospective  requirements  were  sadly 
underestimated.  That  was  the  day  of  small  things.  But 
the  gro^\'th  of  the  schools,  both  in  membership  and  in  the 
scope  of  work  found  to  belong  to  such  seminaries,  soon  com- 
pelled extensive  enlargement  of  accommodations. 

The  Platteville  school,  beginning  life  in  1866,  in  the 
building  of  the  old  Platteville  academy,  at  once  found 
itself  straitened  for  room ;  and  a  new  building,  in  exten- 
sion of  the  old  one,  was  completed  in  the  summer  of  1868 
at  a  cost  of  $20,000. 

Almost  from  the  sttirt,  the  Whitewater  building  was 
found  to  be  inadequate  to  the  demands  upon  it ;  and  a  new 


.#' 

v# 

- 

i 

^^JK/m 

^*==''^-^' 


prof.  (3.  S.  aibcc. 

Professor  Albee,  president  of  the  state  normal  school  at 
Oshkosh,  began  his  career  as  a  teacher  in  New  York,  in  1855. 
He  entered  Genesee  college  in  1859,  but  was  soon  appointed 
professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  science  in  Rushford  acad- 
emy, which  position  was  held  until  his  matriculation  in  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan,  fall  of  1861.  Graduating  A.  B.  from  that 
university  in  1864,  he  was  engaged  as  principal  of  high  school, 
Peoria,  Ills.,  and  was  called  to  principalship  of  the  high  school, 
Kenosha,  Wis.,  in  1865.  In  1868  he  accepted  the  principalship 
of  the  Racine  high  school,  and  soon  after  was  appointed  super- 
intendent of  the  schools  of  that  city,  a  system  at  that  time 
ranking  first  in  the  state,  due  to  the  influence  and  ability  of  John 
G.  McMynn.  Mr.  Albee's  work  in  the  Racine  high  school 
marked  him  as  the  man  needed  to  assume  charge  of  the  new 
state  normal  school,  Avhich  was  opened  at  Oshkosh,  in  1871. 
For  nearly  twenty-two  years  Mr.  Albee  has  occupied  the  posi- 
tion of  president  of  this  institution. 

This  period  has  been  marked  throughout  the  state  as  one 
of  rapid  development  and  advancement  of  the  whole  educa- 
tional system.  The  school  at  Oshkosh,  has  been  distinguished 
for  steady  and  rapid  growth.  Its  influence  upon  the  public 
schools  throughout  the  state  can  hardly  be  calculated.  The 
hundreds  of  young  men  and  women  who  have  been  educated 
for  the  profession  in  this  school  and  imbued  with  the  high  ideals 
of  the  president  have  given  ample  proof  of  the  wisdom  of  found- 
ing and  supporting  normal  schools  ;  throughout  the  state,  in 
village  and  city,  in  hundreds  of  schools  may  be  found  teachers 
who  have  been  helped  to  greater  accomplishment  and  encour- 
aged to  higher  achievement  by  the  example  of  patience,  earnest- 
ness and  thoughtfulness,  impressed  by  one  whom  all  are  proud 
to  remember  as  their  "best  teacher." 

W.  E.  A. 


SKETCH  OP  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  273 

wing,  almost  equal  in  capacity  to  the  original  building,  was 
completed  in  the  summer  of  1876,  at  a  cost  of  about  $20,000. 
The  Oshkosh  school  early  exhausted  all  available  space  and 
was  enlarged  in  1877  by  a  new  wing,  costing  $15,000. 

Now  it  was  vainly  supposed  that  all  needs  had  been 
met.  The  River  Falls  school  was  built  on  a  larger  scale  in 
the  light  of  experience ;  but  the  older  schools  were  soon 
suffering  again  for  lack  of  room.  In  the  fall  of  1880,  the 
Platteville  school  received  an  extension,  for  which  $10,000 
was  appropriated.  In  1888,  a  gymnasium  was  added  to  the 
Oshkosh  school,  at  a  total  cost  of  about  $7,000. 

In  1891,  the  funds  at  the  command  of  the  board  being 
insufficient  for  enlargements  still  needed,  the  legislature 
made  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  to  provide  additions  at 
Platteville  and  Whitewater.  Scarcelj-  had  the  bill  granting 
this  appropriation  been  enacted,  when  the  Whitewater 
building  took  fire  on  a  windy  morning,  April  27,  1891. 
The  large  wing  erected  in  1876  was  burned  out,  with  con- 
siderable damage  to  the  rest  of  the  building.  Prompt 
action  was  had  on  the  part  of  the  board  and  state  authori- 
ties ;  and  the  burned  wing  was  again  ready  for  occupancy 
at  the  end  of  August,  four  months  after  the  fire.  At 
Christmas  of  the  same  year,  the  new  gymnasium  wing, 
costing  $15,000,  was  also  ready  for  occupancy. 

An  extension  at  Platteville,  the  third  since  its  opening, 
was  completed  in  1892,  at  a  cost  of  $19,000. 

The  buildings  of  the  three  older  schools  are  thus 
rather  interesting  examples  of  architectural  accretion,  as 
well  as  illustrations  of  the  difficulty  of  planning  adequately 
for  educational  institutions  in  a  young  and  growing 
country. 

ENROLLMENT   OF   THE   SCHOOLS. 

The  increasing  membership  of  the  schools  is,  in  a  meas- 
ure, shown  by  the  following  table  of  enrollments,  from  which 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  adult  students  availing 
themselves  of  professional  training  in  the  normal  schools  of 
the  state  has  increased  from  600  in  1872  to  1,100  in  1881 
and  1,600  in  1892.  But  this  by  no  means  represents  the 
whole  gain.  The  standards  of  admission  have  gradually 
advanced  in  a  degree  calculated  to  check  the  accretion  of 
mere  numbers.  The  1,600  students  of  1892  represent  a 
much  higher  attainment  and  larger  professional  force  than  an 
equal  number  would  have  done  twenty,  or  ten,  years  ago. 


274 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOI^  IN  WISCONSIN. 


The  enrollment  of  the  model  schools  for  the  same  years 
is  also  given  as  being  of  some  interest,  although  not  so 
directly  representative  of  the  progress  made. 

TABLE   OF   ATTENDANCE   AT  THE   NORMAL   SCHOOLS. 

NORMAL  DEPARTMENT. 


School 

Platteville. 

Whitewater.;  Oshkosh. 

1 

River  Falls. 

Milwaukee. 

.  Aggregate. 

Year. 

1866-67. 

M. 

38 
69 
82 
103 
80 
104 
101 
97 

F. 

61 

81 

Tot 

99 

M. 

F. 

Tot  1  M. 

J 

F. 

Tot 

M. 

F. 

Tot 

M. 

F. 

Tot 

M. 

38 
14« 

230 
406 
392 

483 
479 
498 

F. 

61 
176 

362 
575 
709 
914 
991 
1,099 

Tot 
99 

1868-69 

IV) 

77 

75 
114 

i72  j .... 

322 

1871-72. 

116i  i9«      77 

221      71 
286    144 
303    157 
344    178 
3-26    198 
325    193 

IO2I 
179 
226 
316 
338 
392 

173' 
328 
383 
494 
536 
585 

592 

1875-76. 
1880-«1. 
1885-86. 
1890-91. 
1891-92. 

101 
1.% 
180 
167 
190 

204 

216 
284 
268 

287 

94 
87 
112 
97 
93 

19-2 
216 
232 
229 
232 

65 
68 
87 
71 
92 

103 
132 
142 
196 
218 

168 
200 
229 
267 
810 

12 
23 

'44 

61 
67 

.... 

46 

73 
90 

981 
1,101 
1,397 
1,470 
1,597 

MODEL  DEPARTMENT. 

1866-67. 

68     43   111' 1 

68 

43 
183 
232 
440 
42S 
382 
395 
463 

111 

1868-69. 

118     96  214      9» 
114     92  206      85 

87    181    

1 

1  212 

395 

1871-72. 

67   1.54      68     73 

141 

198 
230 
231 
196 
238 

no 

67 
59 
57 
65 

! 

....     267 

49» 

1875-76. 

120,  135  255      61 
118   115   2.S3      93 

48  63   nil     71 

49  63   112|i     64 
65     79   114|     56 

54   115      80   118 
81   117     99   131 
74   145    104   130 

61  125      76   120 

62  1181   103   135 

133 
93 
61 
90 

109 

243 
160 
120 
147 
174 

1 

....     371 

811 

1880-81. 
1885-86. 
1890-91. 
1891-92. 

;  "58 

1    56 
58 

54 
61 

78 

....     377 
1121  340 

117 1  302 
136i   347 

800 
722 
697 
810 

These  figures  exhibit  the  grow'th  of  the  schools  with  tol- 
erable exactness,  though  not  with  entire  accuracy  as  a  means 
of  comparison  with  each  other ;  since  the  line  between  the 
normal  and  lower  departments  has  not  been  the  same  in  all 
the  schools,  nor  always  the  same  in  each  school.  Further- 
more, the  continuity  of  pupils  is  not  the  same  in  all,  so  that 
with  a  less  total  enrollment  there  may  exist  a  greater  aver- 
age attendance. 

From  the  table  as  a  whole,  it  will  be  seen  that,  notwith- 
standing some  natural  fluctuations,  there  has  been  a  constant 
and  steady  growth  in  the  membership  of  the  schools.  This 
has  taken  place,  moreover,  contemporaneously  with  a  general 
increase  of  requirements  both  for  admission  and  graduation. 


CURRICULUM- 


-FIRST    COURSES   OF    STUDY  ADOPTED    BY    THE 
BOARD. 


Courses  of  study  for  the  schools  were  adopted  by  the 
board  at  its  meeting  in  June,  1868,  three  in  number,  viz.: 

1.  An  institute  course  of  one  term. 

2.  An  elementary  course  of  two  years. 

3.  An  advanced  course  of  three  years. 

The  courses  were  essentially  the  same  for  both  schools ; 
but  the  arrangement  of  the  specific  studies  was  left  to  each 


SKETCH  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN  WISCONSIN.  275 

principal  for  his  own  school,  so  that  the  practical  workings 
of  the  courses  in  the  two  became  somewhat  different. 

The  several  courses  were  announced  by  the  Platteville 
school  in  the  following  terms : 

"The  institute  course  is  designed  to  meet  the  wants  of  those 
teachers  who,  possessing  the  necessary  scholastic  acquirements, 
yet  feel  the  need  of  professional  training.  It  will  consist  of  a 
rapid  revieAV  of  the  various  subjects  taught  in  our  common 
schools,  with  lectures  upon  the  best  methods  of  teaching  the 
same;  lectures  upon  the  organization,  classification  and  govern- 
ment of  the  schools,  and  the  school  law. 

"  The  object  of  the  elementary  course  is  to  fit  students  to 
become  teachers  in  the  common  schools  of  our  state,  and  will 
consist  of  a  thorough  drill  in  the  studies  pursued,  experimental 
lectures  on  methods  of  instruction  and,  if  practicable,  practice  in 
model  school. 

"The  advanced  course  should  fit  teachers  for  the  higher  de- 
partments of  the  graded  schools  in  this  state,  and,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  detailed  statement  of  the  courses  of  study,  is  both 
thorough  and  practical.  Students  in  the  advanced  course  will 
have  extended  practice  in  the  model  school,  under  the  eye  of 
experienced  teachers,  who  will,  by  kindly  criticisms  and  pointed 
suggestions,  strive  to  make  the  practice  conform  to  the  theory  of 
instruction." 

THE  INSTITUTE  COUKSE. 

Of  the  three  courses  inaugurated  in  1868,  the  institute 
cours6  had  a  brief  and  rather  unsatisfactor}'  career.  In  the 
fall  of  1871,  a  venture  was  made  in  the  shape  of  an  institute 
course  of  six  weeks.  This  course,  if  it  can  be  called  a  course, 
was  taken  by  thirty-five  pupils  at  Whitewater,  twelve  at 
Platteville,  and  fifteen  at  Oshkosh.  In  1872,  the  institute 
course  was  again  attempted  in  connection  with  the  first  six 
weeks  of  the  fall  term,  with  an  attendance  of  37  at  Oshkosh, 
26  at  Whitewater,  and  of  (?)  at  Platteville — a  practical 
failure  except  at  the  first-named  school. 

This  institute  class,  coming  as  it  did  at  the  time  of  the 
year  when  the  schools  were  the  fullest,  and  the  tax  upon  the 
teaching  force  greatest,  was  found  to  be  very  inconvenient 
in  the  working  of  the  schools,  and  was  from  this  time  dis- 
continued. 

THE  THREE  YEARS'  COURSE. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  board  of  regents  in  1872, 
the  elementar}'^  course,  which  had  been  simply  a  dead 
letter,  was  changed  to  one  year  in  length,  but,  as  before,  it 
failed  to  attract  students  in  any  practical  way. 


276  SKETCH   OP   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

There  was,  thus,  practically,  but  one  course,  of  three 
years  in  length,  up  to  the  year  1874.  In  July  of  that  year, 
a  change  was  made  which  may  best  be  stated  by  inserting 
here  the  main  portion  of  a  committee  report  which  was 
adopted  at  that  time.     It  was  voted  : 

"That  hereafter  in  the  several  normal  schools  in  the  state 
there  shall  be  two  courses  of  study,  known  respectively  as  the 
'elementary  course'  and  'advanced  course' ;  that  the  elementary 
course  shall  be  two  years  in  length,  and  the  advanced  course  four 
years  in  length  ;  and  that  the  studies  in  the  respective  courses, 
and  the  maximum  and  minimum  time  allowed  thereto  shall  be  as 
follows  : 

"In  the  elementary  course  :  Arithmetic,  30  to 40  weeks  ;  ele- 
mentary algebra,  12  to  20  Aveeks  ;  geometry,  16  to  23  weeks  ;  book- 
keeping, 6  to  10  weeks  ;  reading  and  orthoepy,  orthography  and 
word  analysis,  30  to  37  weeks  ;  English  grammar,  28  to  39  weeks  ; 
composition,  criticism  and  rhetoric,  20  to  24  weeks  ;  geography, 
physical  geography,  26  to  40  weeks  ;  physiology,  10  to  15  weeks  ; 
botany,  10  to  13  weeks  ;  natural  philosophy,  12  to  17  weeks ; 
United  States  history,  civil  government,  30  to  40  weeks  ;  pen- 
manship (time  undetermined);  drawing,  20  to  26  weeks  ;  vocal 
music  (time  undetermined);  theory  and  practice  of  teaching. 

"In  the  adv^anced  course,  the  studies  of  the  first  two  years 
shall  be  the  same  as  those  of  the  elementary  course,  with  the  ad- 
dition of  I^atin  for  20  weeks,  which  shall  take  the  place  of  rhet- 
oric. In  the  advanced  course,  the  studies  of  the  last  two  years 
shall  be  :  Higher  algebra,  20  to  28  weeks  ;  geometry  and  trigo- 
nometry, 17  to  23  weeks  ;  Latin,  80  weeks  ;  rhetoric  and  English 
literature,  10  to  28  weeks  ;  chemical  physics,  6  to  20  weeks  : 
chemistry,  12  to  23  weeks  ;  zoology,  6  to  12  weeks  ;  geology,  12 
to  17  weeks  ;  universal  history,  12  to  23  weeks  ;  political  econ- 
omy, 15  to  17  weeks  ;  mental  and  moral  science,  20  to  30  weeks  ; 
theory  and  practice  of  teaching." 

The  committee  also  recommend  that  at  the  close  of  the 
elementary  course  there  shall  be  a  thorough  review  of  the 
studies  of  the  last  two  years. 

Details  of  the  order  of  studies  within  each  course,  and 
the  precise  amount  of  time  devoted  to  each  study,  within 
the  limits  prescribed,  were  left  to  the  presidents  and  facul- 
ties of  each  school. 

The  sanctions  established  were  as  follows : 

1.  For  the  advanced  course,  a  diploma,  becoming,  in 
due  process,  an  unlimited  state  certificate. 

2.  For  the  elementary  course,  a  certificate,  becoming  in 
like  manner,  a  state  certificate  limited  to  five  years. 


ll^re0i^cnt  Buncan  fIDcGrcGor* 

In  the  fall  of  1858,  while  working  on  a  farm  in  Waupaca 
county,  Duncan  McGregor  was  importuned  to  take  charge  of  a 
school  among  the  pineries  of  Marathon  county,  and  reluctantl}' 
consented.  The  salary  agreed  upon  was  S18  per  month,  for 
four  months,  and  the  understanding  that  the  teacher  should  he 
hoarded  by  the  families  represented  in  the  school.  A  month 
was  added  to  the  term  of  four  months,  for  which  there  was  no 
money  in  the  treasury,  and  Mr.  McGregor  was  obliged  to  be 
satisfied  with  tax  certificates.  In  the  spring  of  1859  or  '60  he 
was  elected  town  superintendent,  and  achieved  the  unenviable 
rei)utation  of  being  the  first  superintendent  who  was  inconsider- 
ate enough  to  refuse  a  certificate  to  a  candidate.  The  spring  of 
1861  found  youug  McGregor  working  on  a  farm  near  Appleton. 
Documents  in  his  possession  showed  that  he  had  completed  the 
junior  year  in  King's  college,  Aberdeen.  He  knew  little  or 
nothing  of  educational  institutions  in  the  West,  and  therefore 
asked  to  be  examined  for  admission  to  Lawrence  univei-sity, 
preferring  to  stand  upon  his  actual  attainments  as  they  might 
be  measured  by  the  faculty,  rather  than  upon  his  foreign  cre- 
dentials. The  result  of  the  examination  surprised  the  candi- 
date. He  was  informed  that  he  might  enter  any  class  which  he 
pleased.  He  spent  a  term  in  the  institution,  taught  the  high 
school  in  Waupaca  for  the  year  1861-62,  passed  examination 
for  graduation,  and  received  his  degree  of  A.  B. 

He  taught  for  a  short  time  after  this,  but  then  enlisted,  be- 
came captain  of  Company  A,  Forty-second  infantry,  and  fol- 
lowed the  fortunes  of  war  to  its  conclusion.  After  he  was  mus- 
tered out  he  again  became  principal  of  the  high  school  in  Wau- 
paca, but  in  1867  was  appointed  professor  of  mathematics  in 
the  state  normal  school  at  Platteville. 

Twelve  years  of  experience  in  this  school,  during  which  his 
usefulness  was  demonstrated  as  institute  conductor,  and  super- 
visor of  practice  teaching,  established  his  reputation  as  a  man  fit 
to  be  entrusted  with  larger  responsibilities.  A  vacancy  occun*ed 
in  the  presidency  of  the  school,  and  Mr.  McGregor  was  at  once 
elected  to  occupy  the  place.  He  has  therefore  been  engaged  at 
the  head  of  the  Platteville  school  for  thirteen  years. 

President  McGregor  has  been  a  very  active  and  enthusiastic 
leader  in  the  introduction  of  advanced  methods  of  instruction, 
especially  in  the  work  of  drawing,  and  the  teaching  of  mathe- 
matics in  institutes.  He  has  been  president  of  the  teachers' 
association  of  Wisconsin,  has  been  twice  appointed  as  member 
of  the  })oard  of  examiners  for  state  certificates,  is  the  author  of 
the  revised  and  enlarged  drawing  book  published  by  A.  H. 
Andrews,  of  Chicago,  and  in  many  ways  has  been  instrumental 
in  advancing  the  interests  of  education  throughout  the  state. 

W.  E.  A. 


SKETCH    OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN.  277 

MODIFICATIONS    IN  1879    AND  1880. 

Ill  July,  1879,  the  schedule  of  studies  was  somewhat 
modified,  and,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  presidents  of 
the  schools,  it  was  ordained — 

"That  the  elementarj'^  course   shall  include  the  following 
named  branches,  pursued  within  the  specified  limits  of  time: 
Arithmetic. 

Elementary  algeljra : 12  to  20  weeks 

Geometry 16  to  28  weeks 

Book-keeping 6  to  10  weeks 

Reading,  orthoepy,  orthography  and  word  analy- 
sis  30  to  37  weeks 

English  grammar 28  to  30  weeks 

Composition  and  criticism 20  to  24  Aveeks 

Geogi-aphy ,  political  and  physical 25  to  40  weeks 

Botany 10  to  13  weeks 

Physiology  10  to  15  weeks 

Physics 12  to  17  weeks 

Ignited  States  history  and  civil  government 30  to  40  weeks 

Drawing 20  to  40  weeks 

Penmanship  and  vocal  music. 

Theory  and  art  of  teaching,  and  school  management. 

That  the  advance  course  shall  include  all  the  branches  ot 
the  elementary  course,  together  with  : 

Higher  algebra 20  to  28  weeks 

Higher  geometry 12  to  15  weeks 

Latin 80  weeks 

Rhetoric  and  English  literature 10  to  28  weeks 

Chemistry 12  to  23  weeks 

Zoology 6  to  12  weeks 

Geology 12  to  15  weeks 

General  history 12  to  28  weeks 

Political  economy 10  to  17  weeks 

Mental  science 12  to  20  weeks 

Drawing 10  to  20  Aveeks 

Pedagogics 20  weeks 

It  may  be  remarked  that,  at  this  time,  the  amount  of 
Latin  required  in  the  advanced  course  was  not  only  dimin- 
ished to  two  years,  but  also  that  this  amount  was  made  op- 
tional with  an  equal  time  in  English  literature.  All  ex- 
cept the  Whitewater  school  availed  themselves  of  this  op- 
tion ;  but  every  graduate  at  Whitewater  has,  thus  far,  taken 
the  Latin  course. 

Experience  had  long  shoAvn  that  the  elementary  course 
was  badly  over  crowded ;  and  in  July,  1880,  it  was  voted  by 
the  board  "that  each  president  be  instructed  to  arrange  for 


278  SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

his  own  school  the  programme  of  the  present  studies  in 
the  elementary  course  to  cover  two  and  a  half  3'ears  for 
their  completion  by  the  students." 

This  was,  in  effect,  a  lengthening  of  both  courses  to  two 
and  a  half  and  four  and  a  half  years,  respectively.  This 
change  was  promptly  effected  at  the  Oshkosh  and  White- 
Avater  schools,  and  somewhat  later  at  the  other  schools. 

As  has  been  stated  in  the  preceding  chapter,  when  the 
Milwaukee  school  Avas  organized,  in  1885,  the  elementary 
course  was  omitted  and  only  the  advanced  course  of  two 
years  was  established.     This  was  outlined  as  follows  : 

(a)  Reviews  of  elementary  branches 80  weeks 

(b)  Schoolmanagement,  art  of  teaching,  history  of  edu- 

cation, psychology,  and  science  of  education.... 80  weeks 

(c)  Practice  teaching  and  observ^ation 40      " 

(d)  Natural  science  review 60      " 

(e)  English  literature,  constitutions  and  political  econ- 

omy  60      " 

German  may  be  substituted  for  English 30      " 

Physical  exercises,  music  and  drawing  to  be  introduced  as 
the  exigencies   of  the  school  may  seem  to  permit." 

In  this  course,  it  will  be  observed,  Latin  was  omitted 
altogether :  German  was  made  optional  with  a  limited 
amount  of  English ;  while  music  and  drawing  were  left  in 
an  .ambiguous  position,  though  the  practice  of  the  school 
has  not  ignored  them. 

RADICAL    REVISION  IN  1892. 

In  July,  1892,  after  thorough  and  careful  discussion, 
the  presidents  of  the  several  schools  submitted  to  the  board 
a  scheme  of  studies  differing  in  important  particulars  from 
that  which  had  previously  obtained.  The  main  points 
of  change  involved  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  two  former  courses  are  shortened  to  two  and 
four  years  respectively,  doing  away  with  the  odd  half  year. 

2.  Four  courses  are  provided  for : 

(a)  An  English  course  of  four  years. 

(b)  A  Latin  course  of  four  years. 

(c)  A  professional  course  of  one  year. 

(d)  An  elementary  course  of  two  years,  being  the  first 
two  years  of  the  English  course. 

3.  The  elective  principle  is  further  extended,  so  that 
those  taking  the  English  course  may  choose  between  dif- 
ferent lines  of  work  in  the  natural  sciences.  German  may 
also  be  elected  instead  of  Latin. 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN.  279 

The  details  of  this  new  schedule,  as  adopted  by  the  board 
of  regents,  are  as  follows,  the  time-limits  specified  being  the 
minimum  requirements  in  the  several  branches. 

I. THE   ENGLISH    COURSE. 

Mathematics:     Arithmetic,  algebra  and  geometry 80  weeks 

Book-keeping,   optional ". 10      " 

Vocal  music 20     " 

Drawing 40      " 

English  language  :  Orthoepy,  reading,  word  analysis, 
grammar  and  composition,  rhetoric  and  literature, 

in  all 120     " 

Natural  sciences,  required :  geography,  including 
physical,  20  weeks  ;  physiology,  10  weeks;  botany, 
10  weeks  ;  physics,  20  weeks.  In  addition  to  this, 
at  least  50  weeks'  work  from  the  following  elective 
list,  viz.;  Physiology,  10  weeks  ;  botam-,  10 
weeks  ;  zoology,  20  weeks  ;  chemistrj%  20  weeks  ; 
geology,  20  Aveeks ;  physics,  20  weeks. 

^linimum  aggregate  in  natural  science 110      " 

United  States  history  and  civil  government 30      " 

General  history 25      " 

Political  economy 15      " 

Professional  work  :  School  management,  school  law, 
and  theory  and  methods  of  teaching,  50  weeks  ; 
practice  teaching,  40  weeks ;  reviews  in  common 
school  branches  Avith  special  reference  to  teaching, 
30  weeks  ;  psycholog)'^,  and  science  and  history  of 
education,  40  weeks  ;  minimum  aggregate  of  pro- 
fessional work-. 160      " 

Minimum  aggregate  of  English  course 600      ' ' 

II. — THE   L.\TIN    COURSE. 

Mathematics:     Arithmetic,  algebra  and  geometry 80  weeks 

Vocal  music 20  '  • 

Drawing 20  " 

Latin 120  " 

English  language  :     Orthoepy,  reading,  grammar  and 

composition,  rhetoric  and  literature 80  " 

Natural  sciences  :     Geography,  including  physical,  20 

weeks  ;  physiology,  10  weeks  ;  botany,  10  weeks  ; 

physics,    20  weeks ;   zoology     or    chemistry    20 

weeks  ;  aggi'cgate  in  natural  science 80  " 

United  States  history  and  civil  government 30  " 

General  history 25  " 

Political   economy 15  " 

Professional  work  :     As  in  the  English  course 160  * ' 

Minimum  aggregate  of  Latin  course 630  ' ' 


280  SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

N.  B  :  Two  years  (80  weeks)  of  German  may  be  substituted 
for  the  Latin,  in  which  case  the  requirements  in  English  lan- 
guage shall  be  the  same  as  in  the  English  course,  viz.,  120  weeks. 

HI. — THE  elf:mentary  course. 

Mathematics :     Arithmetic,     10  weeks ;   algebra,    20 

weeks  ;  geometry,  20  weeks  ;  total 50  weeks 

Book-keeping,  optional 10      " 

Vocal  music 20      '' 

Drawing 20      " 

English  language  :  Orthoepy  and  reading,  20  weeks  ; 
word  analysis,  10  weeks  ;  grammar  and  composi- 
tion, 30  weeks  ;  total 60      " 

Natural  sciences  :  Geography,  including  physical,  20 
weeks  ;  physiology,  10  weeks  ;  botany,  10  weeks  ; 

physics,  20  weeks  ;  total 60      " 

United  States  history  and  civil  government 30      " 

Professional  work  :  School  management,  school  law, 
theory  and  methods  of  teaching,  50  weeks  ;  re- 
views in  common  school  branches  with  special 
reference  to  teaching,  30  weeks  ;  practice  teaching, 

20  weeks;  total 100      " 

Minimum  aggregate  of  elementary  course 340      " 

ONE- YEAR  PROFESSIONAL  COURSE. 

The  course  of  training  in  the  one-vear's  course  shall  consist 
of : 

1.  A  course  of  10  weeks  in  review  and  methods  in  each  ot 
the  following  branches,  viz.:  Reading,  arithmetic,  geography 
and  grammar. 

2.  A  course  of  40  weeks  in  school  management,  school  law, 
and  theory  and  methods  of  teaching,  supplemented  by  20  weeks 
of  class-teaching  in  the  schools  of  practice. 

3.  A  coui"se  of  10  weeks  in  psychology  and  its  applications 
to  teaching. 

4.  A  course  of  20  weeks  in  drawing. 

5.  A  course  of  20  weeks  in  composition  and  rhetoric,  and 
a  course  of  10  weeks  in  either  natural  histor}'  or  civics. 

GROWTH   OF   PROFESSIONAL   THOUGHT. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  normal  schools  were  yet  in 
their  infancy,  and  not  alone  in  Wisconsin.  Those  who  had 
charge  of  their  development  here  did  not  find  much  clear 
guidance  elsewhere.  Scholastic  ideals  and  traditions  still 
ruled  educational  thought ;  and  while  many  recognized  that 
a  normal  school  was  something  other  than  a  mere  academy 
or  secondary  school,  the  precise  character  of  this  difference, 
in  practical  external  realization,  was  far  from  clearly  con. 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL  SCHOOLS  IN   WISCONSIN.  281 

ceived.  Tlie  Wisconsin  normal  schools  have  worked  steadily 
away  at  this  problem ;  and  their  present  professional  char- 
acter is  the  result  of  a  somewhat  slow  process  of  evolution, 
not  yet,  by  any  means,  brought  to  its  completion. 

From  the  very  beginning,  however,  one  clear  and  cher- 
ished idea  has  pervaded  these  schools.  The  professional 
teacher  must,  first  of  all  things,  and  above  all  things  else, 
possess  a  worthy  character,  be  moved  by  unselfish  aims  and 
high  ideals.  No  one  at  all  acquainted  with  the  facts  will 
question  that  the  ethical  purpose  and  spirit  of  these  normal 
schools  has  always  been  high  and  strong.  Akin  to,  indeed  a 
part  of,  this  ethical  spirit  is  the  devotion  to  thoroughness  in 
the  fundamentals  of  scholarship  and  training  which  has 
always  been  a  well-defined  characteristic. 

But  there  are  other  lines  in  which  the  normal  schools 
have  had  slowly  to  work  out  their  own  distinctive  features 
as  professional  training  schools.  Doubtless  the  most  prom- 
inent fact  here  has  been  the  effort  to  determine  and  lead  to 
a  recognition  of  true  ideals  and  ends  in  education.  The 
narrow,  materialistic  notions  which  constitute  the  popular 
conception  of  education  must  be  displaced  by  broader, 
truer  ideas  very  early  in  the  training  of  a  profes- 
sional teacher.  The  prospective  educator  should,  above  all, 
learn  in  what  education  reall}^  consists ;  and  this  he  is  not 
likely  to  learn  under  ordinary  circumstances. 

The  normal  schools  of  Wisconsin,  beginning  with  a 
rather  vague  apprehension  of  this  primary  function,  have 
now  come,  it  is  believed,  to  an  adequate  conception  of  their 
responsibility  and  opportunity  in  this  regard. 

Closely  connected  with  this  advance,  in  fact  a  condition 
of  it,  has  been  an  appreciable  progress  toward  a  pedagogic 
treatment  and  use  of  psychology,  turning  aside  from  the 
traditional  but  unfruitful  absorption  in  metaphysics  and  the 
history  of  philosophical  controversy  to  a  more  practical  and 
scientific  study  of  the  phenomena  and  development  of  the 
child-mind,  the  true  material  of  the  teacher's  art.  The 
training  of  the  young  teacher's  thought  toward  the  constant 
study  of  the  child,  his  needs  and  possibilities,  almost  from 
the  first  entrance  upon  normal  school  work,  instead  of  rele- 
gating the  whole  matter  to  a  term  or  two  of  adult  psychology 
in  the  last  year  of  the  course,  is  a  reform  at  least  partially 
realized,  and  wholly  approved. 

A  necessary  corollary  of  the  clearer  apprehension  of  the 
ends   of  education   is   found   in  the   recognition,  not  only 


282  SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

theoretical  but  practical,  of  the  fact,  so  long  obscured,  that 
music,  drawing  and  gymnastics  are  not  simply  accomplish- 
ments, but  as  truly  among  the  essentials  of  education  as 
mathematics  or  geography.  The  normal  schools  have  led 
the  way  in  this  return  from  mediaeval  toward  Greek  con- 
ceptions of  these  elements  of  education.  Again,  while  hold- 
ing firmly  to  a  belief  in  the  value  of  linguistic  study, 
especially  in  the  direction  of  practical  mastery  of  the  mother- 
tongue,  the  normal  schools  have  been  alive  to  the  realistic 
movement  of  modern  thought.  While  the  equipment  of 
laborator  es  and  the  adoption  of  laboratory  methods  have 
progressed  somewhat  slowly,  they  have,,  nevertheless,  been 
realized;  and  the  distinction  between  scientific  work  and 
the  literature  of  science  has  come  to  be  adequately  appre- 
hended. 

A  natural  concomitant  of  what  has  already  been  touched 
upon  is  found  in  the  development  of  what  is  known  as  pro- 
fessional work.  While  nearly  all  the  work  in  a  normal  school 
is  "professional"  in  the  sense  that  it  is  ruled  by  the  pedagog- 
ical aim,  differing  widely  in  this  respect  from  the  work .  of 
other  schools  in  the  same  studies,  there  has  always  been  a 
large  increase  over  the  earlier  years  in  the  amount  of  what 
is  recognized  as  distinctl}"  and  purely  professional  work,  in 
practical  and  theoretical  pedagogy.  This  work  has  not  only 
been  more  carefully  elaborated,  but  it  has  been  brought 
down  into  the  early  years  of  the  course,  so  that  no  student 
can  remain  long  in  the  normal  school  without  coming  under 
its  direct  influence. 

From  the  first,  the  Wisconsin  normal  schools  have 
recognized  the  indispensability  of  schools  of  practice.  The 
earlier  efforts  at  realization  were  crude  and  ineffective ;  but 
they  paved  the  wa}"  to  the  marked  success  of  later  years,  the 
amount  and  organization  of  the  practice  teaching  being  now 
such  as  will  bear  the  most  thorough  examination  and  criticism. 
It  is  impossible  and  unnecessary  to  trace  in  detail  the  various 
steps  of  this  advance  in  pedagogical  thought ;  it  has  been 
gradual,  never  revolutionary,  and  more  discernible  in  the 
present  result  than  in  the  stages  of  its  progress.  It  would  be 
invidious  and  inaccurate  to  attribute  leadership  in  this 
advance  to  one  school  or  another.  All  have  contributed  to 
it  in  greater  or  less  degree  ;  but  no  one  will  take  exceptions 
to  the  assertion  that  great  credit  is  due,  in  the  general 
reckoning,  to  the  wisdom,  insight  and  persistence  of  the 
veteran  president  of  the  Oshkosh  school. 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN.  283 

KINDERGARTEN,  SLOYD,  ETC. 

Only  brief  space  can  be  taken  for  notice  of  certain  move- 
ments with  wliich  the  schools  have  dealt  haltingly.  In  1880, 
a  kindergarten  was  organized  in  connection  with  theOshkosh 
school,  somewhat  by  way  of  experiment.  This  was  con- 
tinued for  several  years,  but,  owing  to  changes  in  the  board 
of  regents  and  want  of  cordial  appreciation  on  the  part  of 
that  body,  it  was  closed  in  1885.  Nothing  further  was  at- 
tempted in  this  direction  until  1882,  in  which  year  the  board 
set  forth,  apparently  with  earnest  purpose,  to  estabhsh  a 
kindergarten  training  department  in  connection  with  the 
Milwaukee  school.  This  is  now  in  j^rocess  of  development 
with  much  in  favor  of  its  full  success. 

Manual  training  has  received  some  attention,  though 
not  incorporated  into  the  regular  curriculum  of  all  the 
schools.  Since  1884,  the  Whitewater  school  has  regularly 
maintained  a  "shop"  in  connection  with  the  natural  science 
department,  each  member  of  the  class  in  physics,  ladies  in- 
cluded, being  required  to  take  a  limited  course  in  the  use  of 
wood-working  tools.  In  1886,  the  Milwaukee  school  began 
work  in  this  line,  receiving  material  assistance  from  promi- 
nent citizens  of  Milwaukee.  Now  an  instructor  in  sloyd  is 
employed  by  the  board,  tliat  system  having  been  introduced 
into  the  model  school.  Thus,  while  music,  drawing,  and 
gymnastics  have  been  placed  on  a  permanent  and  regular 
footing  in  all  the  schools,  the  kindergarden  and  manual  train- 
ing have  been  dealt  with  in  a  more  cautious  and  conservative 
manner.  This  is  doubtless  due,  in  some  degree,  to  the 
financial  limitations  of  the  board. 

ACADEMIC  AND  PREPARATORY  DEPARTMENTS. 

The  policy  of  accepting  local  aid  in  the  construction 
and  equipment  of  normal  schools  has  resulted,  in  some 
states,  and  to  some  extent  in  Wisconsin,  in  complication  of 
interests  to  the  hindrance  of  the  purely  professional  inter- 
est. The  existence  of  a  local  right  to  demand  that  a  normal 
school  shall  provide  an  academic  department  is  always  an 
embarrassment  to  the  legitimate  work  of  such  a  school.  In 
their  earlier  years,  the  Wisconsin  normal  schools  were  sub- 
ject to  such  a  demand ;  and,  in  1876,  the  board  set  out  to 
make  the  "grammar  departments"  of  the  several  schools 
fitting  schools  for  college.  This  thought,  for  a  time,  received 
special  development  at  the  Whitewater  school,  in  what  had, 
all  along,  been  called  the  "academic"  department.     In  1884, 


284  SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

however,  the  board  finally  took  action,  by  abolishing  the 
tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  grades  in  the  grammar  depart- 
ment at  Whitewater,  which  constituted  a  definite  abandon- 
ment of  all  aims  not  necessarily  connected  with  the  prepara- 
tion of  teachers.  Nothing  higher  than  the  ninth  grade  now 
remains  in  any  of  the  model  schools. 

Of  a  very  different  nature,  however,  are  the  "preparatory 
classes."  The  normal  schools  of  Wisconsin  have  never  been 
willing  to  ignore  scholarship  as  essential  to  the  teacher's 
equipment ;  nor  have  they  been  able  to  assume  it  as  already 
acquired  by  those  seeking  professional  training.  The  en- 
trance examinations  have  always  been  rigorous  ;  and  only  a 
minority  of  those  applying  for  admission  are  found  qualified 
to  enter  directly  upon  the  work  of  the  normal  course. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  those  coming  from  the  rural  schools, 
even  the  best.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  normal  schools 
to  keep  in  touch  with  the  country  schools  as  far  as  possible; 
and  so  the  preparatory  class  has  been  found  a  useful  adjunct 
as  constituting  a  bridge  from  the  country  schools  into  the 
normal  schools.  Tuition  is  charged  in  these  classes ;  and  the 
preparatory  departments  are  now  nearly,  if  not  quite,  self-sup- 
porting. Much  excellent  material  comes  into  the  normal 
course  from  the  preparatory  classes,  the  preparatory  course 
being,  in  effect,  an  extension  of  the  normal  course  downward, 
a  sort  of  ladder  let  down  to  those  in  need. 

It  is  but  fair  to  say,  however,  that  the  propriety  of  this 
course  has  been  questioned ;  and  considerable  opposition  to 
its  continuance  is  being  manifested  in  influential  quarters. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE  NORMAL  SCHOOLS  AS  A  FORCE. 

The  normal  schools  of  Wisconsin  are  part  and  parcel  of 
the  public  school  system.  They  are  absolutely  free  to  all  persons 
who  contemplate  teaching  in  the  schools  of  the  state.  They 
are  schools  of  th^  people,  and  not  simply  of  the  wealthy 
classes.  Their  function  is  to  prepare  teachers  for  the  public 
schools,  from  the  wayside  rural  school  to  the  city  high  school. 
Their  work  has  been  adjusted,  almost  of  necessity,  to  the 
practical  demands  upon  them  rather  than  to  any  abstract 
ideal  of  what  a  normal  school  should  be  ;  though  theoretical 
ideals  have  by  no  means  been  forgotten  or  ignored. 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN.  285 

Two  aims  constantl}''  present  themselves  to  those  charged 
with  the  management  of  normal  schools.  Shall  we  devote 
ourselves  to  the  service  of  the  multitude  in  the  elementary 
schools,  and  prepare  teachers  only  for  them  ?  Or  shall  we 
rather  aim  to  prepare  the  select  few  for  educational  leader- 
ship and  the  more  responsible  positions?  In  some  states,  as 
Connecticut,  for  instance,  the  former  aim  seems  to  liave  been 
frankly  accepted.  The  normal  schools  of  Wisconsin  have 
not  been  willing  as  yet,  to  forego  either  end,  though  the  two 
may  seem  to  be  in  some  degree  incompatible ;  but  they  have 
striven,  so  far  as  practicable,  to  meet  both  demands.  This  is 
the  meaning  of  the  two  courses  of  study,  the  elementary  and 
the  advanced,  which  have  so  long  prevailed  ;  and  the  modi- 
fications recently  made  (in  1892)  have  the  same  ends  in  view. 

It  has  been  the  constant  endeavor  of  these  schools,  more- 
over, to  enkindle  their  pupils  with  the  love  of  knowledge  and 
the  desire  for  a  fuller  personal  development,  leading  them 
eventually  to  higher  institutions  for  wider  training.  In  con- 
sonance with  this  thought,  they  have  not  striven  to  graduate 
large  numbers  in  brief  and  meagre  courses ;  but  emphasis 
has  always  been  laid  upon  the  long  course.  The  term  "grad- 
uate" is  not  allowed  to  those  completing  only  the  shorter 
course.  As  a  consequence  of  this  policy  and  their  exacting 
standards  of  thoroughness,  the  Wisconsin  normal  schools 
have  not  sent  out  such  large  numbers  of  graduates  as  those 
in  states  where  lower  standards  have  prevailed.  This  fact, 
they  have  not  chosen  to  consider  as  a  reproach. 

GRADUATES  AND  UNDERGRADUATES. 

In  the  twenty-three  years  wJiich  have  elapsed  since  the 
graduating  of  the  first  class  at  Platteville,  the  normal  schools 
have  graduated  792  persons  from  the  advanced  course.  The 
elementary  course  has  been  completed  by  776  others,  a  total  of 
1,568.  Something  over  one-third  of  these  were  men.  Of  all 
these  persons,  95  per  cent,  have  discharged  their  obligations 
by  teaching  after  graduation.  Nearly  40  per  cent,  have  taught 
every  year  since  graduation,  in  some  capacity;  while  51  per 
cent,  of  all,  notwithstanding  death  and  matrimony,  are  still 
members  of  the  teachers'  profession,  having  stopped  only 
temporarily  for  recuperation  or  other  unavoidable  causes. 
The  aggregate  amount  of  teaching  done  by  these  graduates  is 
over  7,000  years,  counting  eight  to  ten  months  of  teaching  a 
year.  The  average  amount  of  teaching  done  by  all,  living  and 
dead,  married  and  unmarried,  is  nearly  five  years  since  grad- 


286  SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

uating,  besides  a  large  amount  of  teaching  done  between  the 
date  of  first  entering  the  normal  school  and  the  date  of  grad- 
uation. 

The  character  of  the  positions  held  and  the  amount  of 
salaries  received  by  these  graduates  have  alike  been  credita- 
ble to  the  schools  in  which  they  were  trained. 

It  is  often  alleged,  with  substantial  truth,  that  these 
graduates  are  lost  to  the  country  schools,  being  quickly 
caught  up  by  the  cities  and  high  schools.  They  have  too 
much  capital  invested  in  professional  training  to  remain  in 
poorly  paid  positions.  But  the  country  schools  get  their  ben- 
efit from  the  normal  schools  through  the  greater  body  of  un- 
dergraduates. About  13,000  young  people,  according  to 
careful  computation,  have  enjoyed  more  or  less  extended 
training  in  these  schools.  Setting  out  the  graduates  and  the 
smaller  number  who  have  done  no  teaching,  there  remain 
something  over  10,000  undergraduates  who  have  gone  forth 
to  teach,  mostly  in  the  common  schools.  The  greater  part 
of  these  have  done  excellent  service  through  considerable 
periods  of  time.  It  is  doubtless  true,  therefore,  that  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Wisconsin  normal  schools  is  most  widely  felt 
through  its  undergraduates,  a  fact  that  is  sometimes  over- 
looked in  current  discussion. 

GENERAL   INFLUENCE. 

The  value  and  influence  of  normal  schools  is  not  con- 
fined, however,  to  the  results  effected  directly  through  their 
pupils.  The  existence  within  the  state  of  five  faculties 
of  picked  teachers,  set  apart  to  the  office  of  exalting  the 
principles  and  rationalizing  the  practice  of  education,  is  in 
itself  a  lact  of  no  small  importance.  The  members  of  these 
faculties  are  bound,  by  virtue  of  their  office,  to  become  care- 
ful students  of  educational  problems  and  to  communicate  the 
fruits  of  their  studies  and  their  experience  lar  beyond  the 
circle  of  their  own  immediate  instruction.  As  members  of 
teachers'  associations  and  institutes,  as  writers  for  the  educa- 
tional press,  as  preachers  of  education  on  all  opportune  occa- 
sions, they  should  be  and  are  candles  set  upon  a  candle- 
stick. And  they  are  not  only  givers  of  pedagogical  light, 
but  supporters  of  the  dignity  and  efficiency  of  the  teacher's 
profession.  The  files  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Wisconsin 
teachers'  association  and  of  all  lesser  associations  within  the 
state  will  bear  testimony  to  the  activity  and  general  utility 
of  the  teachers  in  normal  schools. 


ll^rc0t^cnt  3.  <a,  lemcri^* 

President  Emery  began  his  career  as  a  Wisconsin  educator 
by  teaching  a  connnon  scliool  in  1863.  After  three  years'  em- 
ployment in  Albion  academy,  lie  was  elected  county  superin- 
tendent of  the  east  district  of  Dane  county.  In  1869  he  resigned 
to  become  principal  of  the  Union  school  at  Grand  Rapids, 
which  place  he  resigned  to  accept  the  office  of  county  superin- 
tendent of  Wood  county.  After  re-election,  in  1873,  he  re- 
signed to  become  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Fort  Atkinson. 
Here  for  sixteen  years  Professor  Emery  labored  with  an  earnest- 
ness and  devotion  to  the  work  which  attracted  the  attention  of 
educators  throughout  the  state,  and  won  for  him  the  love  and 
admiration  of  hundreds  of  pupils  who  were  fortunate  enough  to 
come  under  his  al)le  and  inspiring  instruction. 

Few  men,  in  the  history  of  Wisconsin,  have  been  so  uni- 
versally api)roved  and  commended  by  parents  and  citizens  as 
Avas  Professor  Emery  in  Fort  Atkinson. 

While  engaged  as  principal  of  this  school  he  became  widely 
known  throughout  the  state,  by  the  interest  he  manifested  in 
the  state  teachers'  association,  the  efficient  work  which  he  per- 
formed in  the  capacity  of  conductor  of  institutes,  and  in  the 
diligent  sympathy  he  has  shown  in  aiding  and  encouraging  the 
younger  members  of  the  teaching  profession. 

In  July,  1889,  the  board  of  regents  of  normal  schools  unan- 
imously elected  Professor  Emery  to  the  presidency  of  the  state 
normal  school  at  River  Falls,  Wis.  His  incumbency  has 
already  given  evidence  that  the  appointment  was  wise  and  in 
the  interest  of  progress. 

The  attendance  has  rapidly  increased  ;  the  teaching  force 
enlarged ;  systematic  physical  training  has  been  introduced  ; 
appliances  and  apparatus  adapted  to  more  thorough  work  in 
the  sciences  olitained  ;  and  improvements  in  library  facilities 
have  been  instituted. 

W.  E.  A. 


SKETCH   OF  NORMAL   SCHOOLS  IN   WISCONSIN.  287 

But  special  mention  must  be  made  of  the  great  benefits 
resulting  from  the  connection  of  the  normal  schools  with 
the  teachers'  institutes. 

It  is  now  twenty  years  since  the  inauguration  of  the  pres- 
ent system,  by  which  a  leading  member  of  each  normal 
school  faculty  is  set  apart  as  a  conductor  of  institutes,  subject 
to  call  at  any  time  for  this  service.  Thus,  long  before 
"University  extension"  became  a  popular  notion,  normal 
school  extension  was  a  realized  and  familiar  fact,  carrying 
cut  the  best  light  of  those  schools  to  shine  in  the  remotest 
corners  of  the  state.  The  wide- reaching  benefits  of  this 
close  relation  between  the  normal  schools  and  the  county  in- 
stitutes would  deserve  fuller  exposition  but  for  the  fact  that 
the  work  has  been  done,  in  this  same  volume,  by  another 
hand,  that  of  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Chandler,  who  was  for  so 
many  years  a  prominent  factor  in  the  organization  and  man- 
agement of  both  the  normal  schools  and  the  institutes. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  normal  schools  in  Wis- 
consin have  passed  the  experimental  stage,  and  no  longer 
have  anything  to  fear  from  hostile  influences.  They  have 
approved  themselves  as  a  wise  and  necessary  instrumentality 
in  a  public  system  of  education,  and  are  becoming  more  per- 
fectly co-ordinated  with  the  other  factors  of  ttiis  system. 
Making  no  claim  to  have  promulgated  anything  ultimate  in 
educational  theory  or  practice,  they  abide  in  the  hope  of  ful- 
filling their  proper  functions  more  and  more  adequately. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ROSTER  OP   THE   FACULTIES,  1866-93. 

As  a  useful  appendix  to  the  foregoing  chapters,  the  fol- 
lowing list  is  given  of  all  persons,  to  date,  who  have  taught 
regularly  in  the  faculties  of  the  several  normal  schools. 
The  names  in  each  faculty  are  arranged  chronologically,  in 
the  order  of  their  entering  the  teaching  corps  of  the  school. 

The  list  is  a  surprisingly  long  one  and  reveals  one  weak- 
ness in  the  past  management  of  the  schools,  the  fact  that 
the  board  has  not  been  able  to  retain,  chiefly  for  financial 
reasons,  all  the  best  talent  that  has  entered  its  service.  A 
perusal  of  the  list  will  show  how  many  have  gone  on  to 
positions  elsewhere  of  great  honor  and  responsibility. 


288  SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN  WISCONSIN. 

PRESIDENTS. 

Chas.  H.  Allen,  Platteville 1866-70 

Oliver  A  rev,  Whitewater 1868-76 

Edwin  A.  Charlton,  Platteville 1870-79 

Georges.  Albee,  Oshkosh 1871  — 

Warren  D.  Parker,  River  Falls 1875-89 

Wm.  F.  Phelps,  Whitewater 1876-78 

John  W.  Stearns,  Whitewater *."  1878-85 

Duncan  McGregor,  Platteville '  1879  — 

Albert  Salisbury,  Whitewater is85  — 

J.  J.  Mil  pel,  Milwaukee 1885-92 

J.  Q.  Emery,  River  Falls , ."|_        1889 

L.  D.  Harvey,  Milwaukee "       i892 

TEACHERS. 

PIJITTEVILLE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

Chas.  H.  Allen,  principal 1866-70 

Jacob  Wernli,  assistant  principal 1866-68 

Geo.  M.  Guernsey,  mathematics ; 1866-67 

Fanny  S.  Joslyn,  preceptress,  teacher  of  geography,  history,  etc 1866-70 

Esther  M.  Sprague,  principal  model  school 1866-67 

Mrs.  Euretta  A.  Graham,  principal  model  school '..  1867-72 

(  professor  of  mathematics 1867-74 

Duncan  McGregor,    -<  conductor  of  institutes,  etc l«73-79 

I  president,  etc 1879 

Charles  F.  Zimmerman,  teacher  of  drawing 1867-68 

D.  Gray  Purman,  English  language  and  literature 1868-77 

A.  H.  Tuttle,  natural  science 1868-70 

A.  M.  Sanford,  teacher  of  vocal  music 1868-71 

J.  H.  Terry ,  principal  of  academic  department .' .'.  1868-70 

Aug.  Michaells,  teacher  of  German 1869-71 

Edwin  A.  ('harlton.  mental  and  moral  science 1870-79 

George  Beck,  natural  science '.'.  i87o  — 

Eva  M.  Mills,  geography  and  history 1870-73 

Andrew  I  Hntton         I  principal  academic  department 1870-71 

(  conductor  of  institutes,  etc 1879  — 

T.  J.  Colburn,  teacher  of  vocal  music 1871-74 

Carolvn  R   Ad«Tn>!          f  principal  of  academic  department *.*.  1871-73 

^aroiyn  £,.  Aoams,        |  teacher  of  reading  and  history 1873-76 

Emeline  Curtis        ■}  t^*cher  of  intermediate  department 1872-76 

'        ( teacher  of  geography  and  history 1876-81 

Chas.  H.  Nye,  principal  of  grammar  department 1873-93 

Phila  A.  Knight,  arithmetic  and  geography 1873-74 

D.  E.  Gardner,  mathematics  and  vocal  music 1874-91 

Jennie  S.  Cooke,  assistant  in  grammar  department 1874-83 

Mary  A.  Brayman,  teacher  of  primary  department 1874-36 

Helen  Hoadley,  English  language  and  literature 1876-77 

Georgia  A.  Spear,  teacher  of  reading 1876-77 

Mrs.  Helen  Charlton.  English  language  and  literature 1876  — 

Anna  Potter,  teacher  of  Intermediate  department 1876-85 

Albert  J.  Volland,  Latin  and  Greek .'  1877-82 

Emily  M.  B.  Felt,  English  language  and  literature 1877  — 

Ella  C.  Aspinwall,  teacher  grammar  department 1877-82 

Mrs.  S.  E    Buck,  reading 1878-83 

Mary  F.  Flanders,  geography  and  history 1881-85 

Clara  E.  P.  Smith,  preparatory  class  and  Latin 1881-83 

Miss  H.  M.  S.  Eggleston,  teacher  of  primary  department 1881-82 

Ella  Walker,  teacher  of  grammar  department 1882-83 

Sadie  F.  Burr,  teacher  of  preparatory  class 1882-85 

Elizabeth  V.  Mc Arthur,  Ijatin ". 1883-85 

Antoinette  E.  Brainard,  English  grammar .'  1883-84 

Alice  J.  Sanborn,  reading 1884 

Sarah  R.  McDaniel,  English  grammar .'.'.'.' 1884 

Viola  P.  Hotchkiss,  drawing ....!'..  1884-90 

Marj-  Noyes,  Engli.sh  language  and  Latin 1884-86 

Lydia  A.  McDougal,  geography  and  history 1885  — 

Alice  Chapin,  methods,  supervisor  of  practice '.  1895-86 

V  Ti'Ht<><5ip€r>it          j  teacher  of  preparatorv  class 1885-86 

i.  Kateblaght,         "J  English  language  and  Latin 1886-88 

Lona  Wa.shburn,  teacher  of  intermediate  department 1885-87 

Sarah  Alice  Gllsan,  methods  and  supervisor  practice 1886-92 

Helen  A.  Dewey,  teacher  of  primarv  department 188&-89 

Helen  M.  Cleveland,  teacher  of  prepnratory  class 1886-87 

Annie  Hendron,  teacher  of  intermediate  department .'.'.".'  * ." 1887-88 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 


289 


Bertha  Schuster,  teacher  of  Intermediate  department 

Horace  S.  Fiske,  civics,  word  analysis  and  physical  training. 

Minnie  Hicljey,  teacher  of  preparatory  diss 

Edith  A.  Purdy,  teacher  of  intermediate  department 

Mrs.  V.  K.  Hayward,  teacher  of  primary  dejiarimeut 

Ethels.  Rawson,  English  language  and  Latin 

Emma  Wyman,  drawing 

Huldah  A.  Grant,  teacher  of  primary  department 

Clyde  k.  Showalter,  mathematics  and  vocal  music 

Mae  E.  Schreiber,  methods  and  supervisor  practice 

Mary  E.  Laing,  methods  and  supervisor  practice 

Isabella  Pretlow,  teacher  of  preparatory  class    

Janie  A.  Hamilton,  teacher  of  primary  department 

T.  S.  Smith,  physics,  Latin  and  German 

W.  N.  Brown,  teacher  of  grammar  department 

C.  H.  Bickford,  physics,  Latin  and  German 


WHITEWATER  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

Oliver  Arey,  mental  and  moral  philosophy  and  pedagogics 

J.  T.  Love  well,  mathematics 

Mrs.  H.  E.  G.  Arey,  preceptress,  rhetoric  and  drawing 

Emily  J.  Bryant,  "grammar,  geography  and  history 

J.J.  Brown, 'M.  D.,  natural  science 

Harvey  H.  Greenman,  vocal  music 

Virginia  Deichman,  instrumental  music 

Clarinda  D.  Hall,  grammar,  etc 

rftth»rint.H   Tiliv         f  teacher  grammar  department t 

Catharine  H.  Lilly,        {grammar  and  Latin.. 

Ada  Hamilton,  teacher  intermediate  department , 

fi«rah  *   .Stewart  J  teacher  primary  department 

baran  A.  btewart,  -j  geography  and  history 

T.  C.  Chamberlin,  natural  sciences  

Eliza  Graves,  teacher  intermediate  department _ 

Helen  M.  Bowen,  teacher  of  grammar  department •....-, 

Etta  Carle,  intermediate  and  academic  departments 

S.  E.  Vansickle,  teacher  intermediate  department 

Mary  A.  Brayman,  teacher,  primary  department 

Anna  W.  Moody,  principal  academic  department 

Samuel  R.  Alden,  elocution  and  grammar 

Sheppard  S.  Rockwood,  •!  Pn'icipal  academic  department.... 

^^  '  )  professor  of  mathematics 

Sarah  E.  Eldredge,  teacher  primary  department ~. 

Mary  DeLany,  geography  and  history 

Martha  Terry,  principal  academic  department .»». 

Albert  Salisbury,    ]  -^-^^  ^^^^l!!^!^:!^!:-::::;::::-:.:: 

Martha  I.  Burt,  principal  academic  department -~.., 

Annie  M.  Greene,  principal  academic  department , 

Herbert  E.  Copeland,  natural  sciences 

Garry  E.  Culver,  penmanship  and  vocal  music 

Geo.  R.  Kleeberger,  natural  sciences 

Ella  A.  Webster,  teacher  primary  department 

Maggie  E.  Wicker,  teacher  intermediate  department ^ 

Wm.  F.  Phelps,  mental  and  moral  science  and  pedagogics 

Mrs.  A.  J.  Field,  English  grammar  and  rhetoric 

Joseph  H.  Chamberlin,  principal  academic  department 

Emily  Wright,  assistant  principal  academic  department 

Mrs.  J.  D.  Lee,  teacher  intermediate  department 

May  L.  Allen,  teacher  primary  department 

Margaret  M.  Thomas,  English  grammar,  rhetoric  and  literature.. 

Mrs.  E.  M.  Knapp,  vocal  music 

Isabel  Lawrence,  supervisor  of  practice  teaching.......^ 

Helen  L.  Storke,  principal  academic  department 

Isabella  J.  Storke,  assistant  academic  department 

Miss  K.  S.  Osborne,  teacher  intermediate  department ~. 

w.  Seymour  Johnson,  ]  ^^^^°f  ^^^-^^^^ll^p:::::;;-:::::-: 

J.  W.  Stearns,  president,  mental  science  and  pedagogics 

Lyman  C.  Wooster,  natural  sciences 

Emma  M.  Farrand,  English  language  and  literature 

Margaret E.Conklin,  /supervision  of  practice  teaching 

*  "      .*   '   (teacher  of  geography 

assistant  grammar  "department 

principal  preparatory  department 

United  States  history"  and  mathematics., 

teacher  of  geography 


Cornelia  E.  Rogers, 


1888-89 
1887  — 
1887-92 

1889  — 
1889-91 
1890-92 

1890  — 
1891-92 

1891  — 

1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 

1892  — 

1893  — 
1893  — 


1868-76 
1868-72 
1868-76 

1868 
1868-69 
1868-74 
1868-77 
1868-70 

1868 
1871-77 

1868 
1868-69 
1869-72 
186»-73 

1869 

lh69 
1869-70 
1869-70 
1869-71 
1870-71 
1870-71 
1871-72 
1872-81 
1871-7.5 
1872-87 

1872 
1873-82 
1885  — 

1873 
1873-76 
1873-75 
1874-77 
1875-78 
1875-76 

1876 
1876-78 
1876-77 
1876-77 
1876-77 
1876-77 
1876-78 
1877-78 
1877  — 
1877-78 
1877-80 
1877-80 
1877-78 
1877-81 
1881-83 
1878-85 
1878-81 
1878-80 
1878-83 
1887-89 
1878-82 
1882-83 
1888-89 
1889  — 


290  SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 

■Mra   Ario  Rot- r'r^/^to  ftcacher  intermediate  department 1878-86 

Mrs.  Aaa  Kay  ^ooke,|^gj,^jjjjg  ^^^  English  branches 1886  — 

Fanny  C.  Timanus,  teacher  primary  department 1878-79 

Clara  L.  Wright,  teacher  primary  department 1879-80 

Mary  L.  Avery,  English  language  and  literature ]88(i-87 

Ellen  L.  Clothier,  ancient  languages  and  principal  grammar  department..-  1880-81 

Ellen  A.  Persons,  assistant  grammar  department ^ 1880-83 

Ellen  J.  Couch,  teacher  primary  department ^ »  1881-91 

TheronB   Prav     (mathematics  1880-88 

ineron  u.  rray,   ^  conductor  of  institutes,  etc 1888  — 

J.  N.  Humphrey,  Latin,  etc 1881  — 

Agnes  Hosford,  United  States  history,  penmanship  and  mathematics 1881-84 

I  -|  QQ 1    on 

Harriet  A.  Salisbury,  principal  preparatory  department <  J^I^ 

KateE.  N.  Tupper,  principal  grammar  department 1881-85 

J.  VV^.  Gibson,  reading  and  political  economy 1882-83 

C.  W.  Cabeen,  natural  sciences 1883 

Henry  Doty  Maxson,  conductor  of  institutes,  etc ~. 188:^-88 

W.  F.  Bundy,  M.  D.,  natural  sciences, 1883-86 

Elizabeth  Hargrave,  methods  and  supervisor  of  practice  teaching 1888-84 

Frances  A.  Parmeter,  methods  and  supervisor  of  practice  teaching 1884-91 

Helen  M.  Farrand,  assistant  grammar  department _  1884-85 

Mrs.  l^na  B.  Shepherd,  principal  grammar  department - _  1885-86 

Bertha  Schuster,  assistant  grammar  department 1885-87 

Johu  W.  Stump,  natural  sciences 1886-88 

Clara  F.  Robinson,  drawing  and  physiology ~ 1886-90 

Emma  J.  Fuller,  teacher  intermediate  department « 1886-91 

Alfred  J.  Andrews,  director  of  physical  training 1886-87 

SaraE.  Whilaker,  English  langua'ge  and  literature 1887-88 

Mary  R.  Saxe,  assistant  preparatory  and  grammar  departments 1887-89 

Geo.  C.  Shutts,  mathematics  and  general  history _ 1888  — 

Arthur  .4..  Upham,  natural  sciences .....~ - 1888  — 

Annie  M.  Coltrell,  English  language  and  literature 1888  — 

Mnro-nrPt  TTnsfnrri     f  priuci  pal  preparatory  and  grammar  departments 1888-89 

Margaret  Hosford,  |  jj^^^^^i  gt^teg  history  and  mathematics 1889  — 

May  Church,  physical  training 1888-89 

Mary  L.  McCutchan,  principal  preparatory  and  grammar  departments^ 1889  — 

Anna  Barnard,  assistant  preparatory  and  "grammar  departments _  1889  — 

GertrudeL.  Salisburv,  physical  training 1889-92 

Lizzie  Hughes.  \  drawing  and  physiology 1890-92 

^       ■(  drawing  and  penmanship 1892  — 

Annie  Klingensmlth,  methods  and  snpers'isor  practice  teaching 1891-92 

Katherine  G.  Spear,  teacher  intermediate  department 1891  — 

Hattie  L.  Goetsch,  teacher  primary  department 1891  — 

Nina  C.  Vandewalker,  methods  and  supervisor  practice  teaching 1892  — 

Lena  Bateman,  physical  training  and  physiology 1892  — 

OSHK08H  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

Geo.  S.  Albee,  president,  mental  science  and  school  management 1871  — 

Rnhprt  arnhnm    /director  of  modelschool 1871-75 

itooeri  uranam,   j  reading,  vocalmusic  and  conductor  of  institutes 1871-81 

T).  E.  Holmes,  natural  science- 1871 

Mrs.  Mary  Holmes,  geography 1871 

Anna  VV.  Moody,  history  and"  rhetoric -  1871-82 

Martha  Hazard,  drawing  and  calisthenics,  etc ~ 1871-75 

Mary  H.  Ladd,  mathematics , 1871-83 

Maria  S.  Hill,  teacher  grammar  department - ^^J}'^^ 

("teacher  primary  department ~ 1871-74 

Rose  C.  Swart.  ■<  geography  and"  penmanship 1874-81 

(art  of  teaching  and  supervisor  of  practice  teaching 1*^4  — 

Henry  C.  Bowen,  natural  science 1872-74 

Mrs.  Helen  A.  Bateman,  English  grammar  and  composition 1872-84 

Frances  E.  Albee,  teacher  intermediate  department 1872-83 

\Vm.  A.  Kellerman,  natural  sciences 1874-79 

Anna  S.  Clark,  instrumental  music — 1874-78 

Martha  Kidder,  teacher  primary  department ~ ~ 1874-75 

Emily  F.  Webster,  Latin  and  mathematics 1875  — 

Mortimer  T.  Park,  director  of  model  school,  etc - 1875-78 

Henry  Marin,  German 187^-76 

Lucy  A.  Noyes,  teacher  primary  department 187.T-76 

Frances  Taylor,  drawing 1875-76 

Irene  E.  Gilbert,  teacher  primary  department -  1876-77 

Amelia  E.  Banning,  drawing,  etc 1876-84 

J.  P.  Haber,  principal  preparatory  department 1877-78 

Elizabeth  B.  Armstead,  teacher  primary  department 1877-80 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 


291 


Mrs.  L.  L.  Cochran,  principal  preparatory  department .....~ 1878-88 

T^A^^iv  !},<«•,»<,    1  director  of  model  school,  etc 1878-86 

Lydon  W.  Brtggs,  -j  bookkeeping,  civics,  etc 1886  — 

Tncv  r   Andrews     /  mathematics 1878-79 

Lucy  C.  Andrews,  |geography 1879-80 

Carrie  E.  McNutt,  vocal  and  instrumental  music 1878-86 

Waldo  E.  Dennis,  natural  science 1879-82 

Frances  E.  Tower,  mathematics  and  grammar 1879-80 

Aifo-ofto  A    WocL-oii  J  teacher  intermediate  department » 1879-80 

Aiiarecm  a.  "asKeu,-|  ^gjjpjjpppj.jjjjj^j.y  department 1883  — 

Laura  Fisher,  kindergarten  director »  1880 

Nancy  M.  Davis,  mathematics  and  geography 1880  — 

Lillian  A.  Duffies,  grammar  and  history ~ 1880-82 

Vanie  C.  Doe,  teacher  grammar  department 1880-83 

Nellie  F.  Wheaton,  teacher  primary  department »., ^.„.....^ ~....  1880-83 

Nellie  E.  Talmage,  kindergarten  director ~ 1880-81 

Eunice  E.  Frink,  history - 1881-82 

Jenny  LI.  Jones,  kindergarten  director 1881-»2 

Madison  M.  Garver,  natural  science 1882 

Wesley  C.  Sawyer,  conductor  of  institutes,  etc » 1882-85 

A.  N.  Marston,  natural  science ~ 1882-83 

Harriet  E.  Clark,  reading  and  elocution »...; 1882  — 

Eliza  Darling,  history  and  literature „ « 1882-8-1 

Fannie  C.  Colcord,  kindergarten  director 1882-85 

J.  M.  Wilson,  natural  science 1883-85 

Mary  Apthorp,  Latin _ 1883  — 

n„r.,.i^v  TT„«orv„     f  teacher  intermediate  department,  etc 1883-S7 

CarneJ!,.  Hanson,   |  principal  grammar  department 1887-«9 

Therese  E.  Jones,  English  grammar,  composition  and  rhetoric 1884-89 

Grace  Darling,  history  and  English  literature 1884-92 

Harriet  C.  Magee,  drawing  and  social  science 1884  — 

Frances  A.  Carpenter,  assistant  grammar  department .^.^  1884-85 

Lorenzo  D.  Harvey,  conductor  of  institutes,  etc_ 1885-92 

W.  N.  Mumper,  natural  science 1886-89 

Mrs.  Fannie  M.  Marchant,  principal  grammar  department 1885-87 

Mellie  McMurdo.  assistant  grammar  department .^ 1886-86 

Flora  A.  Slosson,  teacher  intermediate  department 1885-87 

Lucy  Washington,  kindergarten  director ....~ ~ ~. 1885-86 

Mrs.  E.  L.  Blakeslee,  music _ -..  1886  — 

Mary  Grandy,  assistant  preparatory  department 1886-88 

Henry  Leemhuls,  gymnastics ». 1887-88 

Trmr„„  c   ca^o  f  assistant  grammar  department 1887-89 

Jimma  u.  &axe,  |  principal  preparatory  department 1889  — 

Philinda  Whiting,  teacher  intermediate  department- ~ 1887-90 

Mary  S.  Dunn,  gymnastics  and  hygiene ^ „ ~~  1888-90 

lonnioP  \r.ii.i.iTi     (  principal  preparatory  department ~. _  1888-89 

Jennie  G.  MarMU,   j  principal  grammar  department 1889  - 

Sarah  A.  Dynes,  assistant  grammar  department 1888-92 

George  M.  Browne,  natural  science 1889  — 

Violet  D.  Jayne,  English  grammar,  composition  and  rhetoric 1889-91 

Mary  S.  Howe,  pianist  and  instrumental  music 1889-91 

Persis  K.  Miller,  assistant  grammar  department 1889  — 

Dora  Dresser,  teacher  intermediate  department - 1890-91 

Theodora  A.  Hooker,  gymnastics  and  hygiene 1890-91 

J.  Rufus  Hunter,  physics  and  mathematics 1891  — 

May  G.  Slotterbec,  history  and  literature 1891-92 

Mina  DeH.  Rounds,  English  grammar  and  composition 1891  — 

Helen  A.  Woods,  gymnastics  and  hygiene 1891  — 

Nellie  L.  Smith,  pianist  and  instrumental  music 1891  — 

Nancy  Darling,  teacher  intermediate  department 1891-92 

Emma  L.  Berry,  history 1892  — 

Josephine  Henderson,  English  language _ 1892  — 

Mrs.  Alma  McMahon,  assistant  preparatory  department 1892  — 

Dennie  G.  Dowling,  teacher  in  model  school „ 1892  — 

Walter  C.  Hewitt,  conductor  of  institutes,  etc 1892  — 

t^^'  KIVER  FALLS  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

Warren  D.  Parker,  president 1875-89 

Jesse  B.  Thayer,  mathematics,  conductor  teachers'  institutes _ 1875-86 

Albert  Earthman,  history,  geography,  music 187,5-78 

W.  S.  Barnard,  physical  science ~ 1875-77 

Lucy  E.  Foote,  reading,  spelling,  English  literature 1875-88 

Laura  G.  Lovell,  history /. ^..  187,^-77 

Sarah  A.  Barnes,  history,  drawing _ .^ 187.5-77 

Margaret  Hosford,  English  grammar  and  rhetoric 187.5-78 

Leora  Pusey,  mathematics „ „ 1875-77 


292 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 


Emily  Wright,  teacher  grammar  grade 

Lizzie  J.  Curtis,  teacher  primary  grade 

Mary  A.  Kelly,  teacher  intermediate  grade 

Mary  E.  Burt,  teacher  grammar  grade 

Tnlia  A   McFarland       f  teacher  grammar  grade... 
juna  A.  Mctariana,     |  mathematics,  geography. 

Ellen  C.  Jones,  teacher  grammar  grade 

r.  H.  King,  natural  science. 


Mrs.  M.  E.  Jenness,    {  J^^^""'  ^^e^sh  language 


supervisor  of  practice  teaching 

Louise  W.  Parker,  teacher  primary  grade 

Julia  M.  Stanclift,  supervisor  of  practice  teaching 

Mrs.  V.  A.  Potter,  singing,  drawing,  writing 

Nellie  L.  Hatch,  history  and  geography 

Myra  Irwin,  singing,  drawing 

(  Latin,  English  language 

Charlotte  J.  Caldwell,  <  history,  geography,  rhetoric,  grammar. 

I  English  language,  general  history.™ , 

Jennie  E.  Blakeslee,  vocal  music 

Nettie  E.  Burton,  assistant  supervisor  of  practice  teaching 

Harriet  A.  Salisbury,  preparatory  grade 

Ellen  C.  Jones,  history,  geography 

Mae  E.  Schreiber,    -!  J^??^  ™"^'° i." " 

'    I  history,  geography,  music , 

Sarah  H.  Strong,  teacher  grammar  grade 

Jane  L.  Terry,  teacher  intermediate  grade 

Edith  I.  Avery,  teacher 

Zilpha  S.  Hubbard,  teacher  grammar  grade 

C.  H.  Keyes,  teacher  history  and  mathematics 

Mrs.  E.  Avery  Watson,  ]  ^:^^^-z:zzz:.zr:z:z:r: 

Sophie  E.  Davis,  mathematics,  history 

J.  T.  Lunn,  language,  mathematics 

Rosalia  A.  Hatherell,  teacher  grammar  grade „ 

Lizzie  A.  Darnell,  teacher  intermediate  grade 

Sadie  F.  Burr,  mathematics,  vocalmusic 

Antoinette  E.  Brainard,  supervisor  of  practice  teaching 

Alice  H.  Shultes,  supervisor  of  practice  teaching 

A.  J.  Andrews,  director  of  physical  training 

H.  T.  Kirk,  conductor  of  institutes 

Cora  Jjce  Summers,  teacher  primary  grade 

A.  L.  Ewing,  natural  science 

Annie  W.  Hurbank,  English  literature,  reading 

Miss  A.  E.  Knapp,  English  literature,  reading 

G.  G.  Payne,  mathematics 

May  D.  Roberts,  mathematics 

J.  Q.  Emery,  president,  etc 

W.  J.  Brier,  conductor  of  institutes,  literature,  etc 

Maud  E.  Remington.  {  O^'S^^^^^-^^^:::.. 

Elizabeth  F.  Knox,  drawing,  vocal  music 

Grace  B.  Marsh,  physical  training „ 

Carrie  T.  Pardee,  drawing 

Mrs.  F.  M.  Thatcher,  vocal  music 

Mattle  A.  Seiders,  principal  grammar  grade 

J.  E.  NeCollins.  mathematics 

Carrie  M.  Sheldon,  preparatory  grade. 


T    vf  rioT-i-      f  United  States  historv,  geography,  two  terms. 
1..  ±1.  i^iark,    I  mathematics 


Eva  E.  Holcombe,  principal  intermediate  grade 

Jane  A.  Sheridan,  physical  training 

Rose  M.  Cheney,  preparatory  grade 

Lovila  M.  Mosher,  Uni'ed  States  history,  geography. 
Lona  Washburn,  principal  grammar  grade 


MILWAUKEE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 


J.  J.  Mapel,  president,  psychology,  etc 

Alexander  Bevan,  natural  science  and  mathematics 

S.  Helen  Romaine,  English  language  and  literature 

Eleanor  Worthington,  geography  and  his'ory 

Mary  S.  Cate,  methods,  superintendent  of  practice  teaching.. 

Emily  W.  Strong,  critic  teacher  third  and  fourth  grades 

Dora  Hilliard,  critic  teacher  fifth  and  sixth  grades 

Mary  Campbell,  critic  teacher  first  and  second  grades 

Silas  Y.  Gillan,  conductor  of  institutes,  etc 


187.5-77 
1875-78 
1875-77 
187«>-77 
1877 
1877-79 
1877-81 
1878-88 
1878-80 
1880-83 
1878-87 
187H-80 
1878-79 
1879-82 
1879-80 
1880-90 
1890-92 

1892  — 
1880-81 
1880-81 
1880-81 
1881-87 
1881-87 
1887-90 
1881-83 
1881-S4 
1882-84 
1883-84 
1883-84 
1884-86 
1886-S8 
1884-85 
1884-85 
1884-91 
1x84-92 
1885-86 
1885-86 

1886  — 
1886-87 
1887-88 

1887  — 

1888  — 
1888-89 
1889-90 

1888 
1889-92 

1889  — 
1889  — 
1890-91 
1891  — 
189«-91 
1891-92 
1891  — 

1891  — 
1891-93 

1892 
1892 
1892 

1893  — 
1893  — 

1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 
1898  — 


1885-92 
1885-89 
1885-92 
1885-86 
1885-86 
1885  — 
1885-88 
1885-87 
1886-92 


SKETCH   OF   NORMAL   SCHOOLS   IN   WISCONSIN. 


293 


A.  J.  Andrews,  conductor  of  physical  training 1886-87 

Mary  E.  Sykes.  methods,  supieriutendent  of  practice  teaching , 1887-89 


Margaret  W.  Morley,  physical  training  and  drawing., 

Winifred  E.  Jones,  critic  teacher  primary  department 

Eliza  A.  Sargent,  critic  teacher  seventh  and  eighth  grades 

Mary  L.  Warner,  critic  teacher  third  and  fourth  grades 

Alice  E.  Sanborn,  critic  teacher  fifth  and  sixth  grades 

Chas.  P.  Sinnott,  mathematics  and  natural  sciences 

Margaret  E.  Conklin,  methods,  superintendent  of  practice  teaching. 

L.  H.  Ertton,  vocal  music „ , 

Mabel  L.  Anderson,  critic  teacher  seventh  and  eighth  grades , 

Miriams.  Paddis,  phvsical  training  and  drawing .^ _ 

Robert  McMynn,  Latin 

Ada  Rockwell,  music „.,...~. 

Carl  Lueders,  physical  training....... 

L.  Dow  Harvey,  president,  etc 

Charles  P.  Chapman,  conductor  of  institutes,  etc 

I.  N.  Mitchell,  Latin  and  mathematics 

Mae  E.  Schreiber,  English  language,  music,  literature 

M.  Elizabeth  Allen,  critic  teacher  seventh  and  eighth  grades 

Jennie  Ericsson,  sloyd 


1887-90 

1887  — 
1888-89 
1888-89 

1888  — 

1889  — 

1889  — 
1889-91 
1889-92 

1890  — 
1891-92 
1891-92 
1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 
1892  — 


Albert  Salisbury. 


History  of  Teachers'  Institutes  in  Wisconsin. 


Among  the  forces  which  have  contributed  largel}'^  to 
the  progress  and  efficiency  of  the  work  of  common  schools 
in  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  is  that  of  the  teachers'  institutes. 
These  institutes,  as  organized  and  managed  in  this  state, 
have  attracted  the  attention  and  received  the  commendation 
of  prominent  educators  in  other  states,  have  been  exceed- 
ingly popular  and  largely  attended  by  teachers  of  all  grades 
in  the  state,  and  have  been  fruitful  in  great  benefits  in  three 
lines  of  eftbrt,  viz.:  (a)  in  imparting  direct  and  excellent 
instruction  to  persons  having  had  meager  advantages  in  the 
ordinary  common  schools  and  no  other,  as  scholastic  prep- 
aration for  teaching;  (b)  in  cultivating  and  promoting  know- 
ledge of  the  theory  and  art  of  teaching  by  instruction  in 
and  exemplification  of  the  principles  underlying  methods 
of  teaching,  organization,  management  and  discipline  ;  and 
(c)  by  creating  an  esprit  de  corps,  professional  pride,  and  the 
spirit  of  emulation. 

The  institute  work  in  Wisconsin,  like  all  institutions  of 
value,  has  been  a  matter  of  growth,  development  and  adap- 
tation. If  there  is  any  one  feature  of  this  work  which  has 
commended  it  to  the  favor  of  our  own  people,  and  to  others 
w^lio  have  observed  it  from  the  outside,  it  is  that  of  conform- 
ity to  existing  needs,  and  complete  and  organic  relation  to 
other  educational  forces.  This  will  be  apparent  by  review- 
ing briefly  the  origin  and  history  of  the  institute  work,  and 
what  has  been  attempted  to  accomplish  through  this  form 
of  effort. 

From  1818  to  1836  Wisconsin  formed  a  part  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  Michigan,  its  population  was  small  and  scattered, 
and  educational  interests  were  necessarily  neglected.  From 
1836  to  1848  the  territory,  now  constituting  the  state,  was  for 
a  short  time  connected  with  Iowa,  and  then  organized  as  a 
territory  by  itself.  The  school  laws  of  Michigan,  with  other 
laws  of  that  territory,  were  adopted  almost  entire,  and  were 
exceedingly  crude  and  defective.  They  contained  no  pro- 
vision for. supervision  of  schools  or  support  of  them  by  pub- 
lic and  general  taxation.     But  by  immigration  from  Eastern 

294 


')r, 


e:2^^<^ 


flDr*  m.  1b.  CbanMer. 

Mr.  W.  H.  Chandler  was  connected  officially  for  a  jjeriod 
of  twenty  \'ears  with  the  nonnal  school  system  of  the  state. 
This  fact,  with  the  talent  and  capacity  he  has  displayed,  entitles 
him  to  the  credit  of  having  exercised  a  larger  influence  in  shap- 
ing the  educational  history  of  Wisconsin,  so  far  as  the  system 
has  been  improved  by  the  normal  schools,  than  an}^  other  edu- 
cator in  the  state. 

He  began  his  career  as  a  Wisconsin  teacher  in  an  ungi-aded 
school  in  tlie  town  of  Windsor,  Dane  county,  in  1856.  He 
then  became  town  superintendent,  and  when  the  township  sys- 
tem was  changed  he  was  elected  superintendent  for  Dane  county, 
and  held  that  office  for  four  years. 

From  1861  till  1868,  he  represented  his  county  as  member 
of  assembly  or  as  state  senator.  While  in  the  legislature  he  Avas 
able  to  effect  important  legislation  for  the  benefit  of  the  schools. 

He  became  regent  of  the  normal  schools  in  1870,  and  subse- 
quently assistant  state  superintendent,  which  position  he  held 
nine  years.  While  member  of  the  board  of  regents,  he  was  un- 
ceasingly diligent  in  furthering,  by  all  ways  practicable,  the  inter- 
ests of  the  normal  schools  and  the  state  system  of  public  schools. 
While  secretar}^  of  the  board  of  regents,  a  post  that  brought  him 
constantly  into  contact  with  the  work  of  the  normal  schools  and 
of  their  instructors,  his  experience  and  his  clear  insight  of  the 
true  purpose  of  these  schools,  and  the  real  significance  of  the 
professional  training  of  teachers  enabled  him  to  see  the  pro})er 
relation  which  normal  schools  should  hold  to  teachers'  insti- 
tutes. He  was  therefore  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  the 
normal  scliools  of  the  state  and  the  whole  system  of  common 
schools  into  close  and  vital  connection.  The  former,  thi'ough 
their  institute  conductors  were  familiarized  with  the  conditions 
under  which  their  pupils  were  to  be  tried  in  actual  teaching, 
and  the  latter  were  potently  and  directly  influenced  by  men 
especially  selected  from  the  normal  faculties  to  reveal  to  young 
teachers  the  leading  principles  of  true  method,  and  to  inspire 
them  with  high  ideals  of  aim  and  purpose. 

Mr.  Chandler  is  a  clear  and  impressive  speaker.  His  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  details  of  school  management  and 
instruction,  his  familiarity  with  school  law,  and  the  wholesome 
enthusiasm  by  which  he  has  directed  and  lead  teachers  to  adopt 
the  practical  aims  of  the  teachers'  mission,  all  have  con- 
tributed greatly  to  the  improvement  of  the  public  schools  of 
Wisconsin. 

Mr.  Chandler  is  now  living  at  Sun  Prairie,  at  his  old  home 
and  near  the  place  where  he  began  his  life  work  as  educator 
thirt3'-six  years  ago. 

W.  E.  A. 


HISTORY   OF   teachers'   INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN.      295 

states  the  population  increased,  and  schools  became  an  im- 
perative necessity.  These  were  provided  by  private  enter- 
prise, and  supported  by  voluntary  contributions  and  rate 
bill  assessments. 

Frequent  applications  by  localities  were  made  to  the 
territorial  legislature  for  authority  to  raise  money  by  taxa- 
tion to  build  schoolhouses  and  support  schools,  which  were 
sometimes  granted  and  sometimes  refused,  as  the  local  rep- 
resentative favored  or  opposed  the  measure.  When  granted, 
the  school  affairs  were  administered  by  local  commissioners, 
who  also  examined  and  gave  certificates  to  teachers,  leased 
the  school  lands,  and  made  reports  to  the  secretary  of  the 
territory.  The  election  or  appomtment  of  town  superinten- 
dents was  agitated  in  and  out  of  the  legislature,  but  failed  of 
success.  So  that  we  can  learn  of  no  effort  during  the  terri- 
torial period  to  organize  teachers  for  mutual  improvement 
and  assistance.  Wages  were  low,  distances  between  settle- 
ments were  great,  and  no  central  supervisory  agency  existed 
to  lead  and  permeate  such  organization. 

With  the  agitation  of  the  question  of  organization  as  a 
state,  which  preceded  the  constitutional  convention  of  1845, 
the  leading  friends  of  a  liberal  public  school  system  began 
the  discussion  of  needed  features  in  that  system.  Public 
meetings  were  held  and  a  sentiment  created  which  decidedly 
affected  the  action  of  the  convention.  But  this  attempt  to 
organize  the  state  by  adopting  a  constitution  failed.  The 
discussion  continued,  and  in  1848  a  constitution  was  adopted. 
In  this  provision  was  made  for  the  establishment  of 
academies  and  normal  schools.  In  the  discussion  in  rela- 
tion to  this  feature,  the  idea  was  persistently  insisted  upon 
that  teachers'  institutes  were  inseparably  connected  with 
normal  school  instruction.  In  less  than  a  year  after  the 
state  organization  was  perfected  by  the  election  of  state 
officers  and  members  of  the  legislature,  the-  regents  of  the 
university,  which  had  been  provided  for  in  the  constitution 
adopted  in  1848,  by  an  ordinance  established  a  normal  de- 
partment in  that  institution.  Honorable  Eleazer  Root,  then 
state  superintendent,  in  his  annual  report  made  at  the  close 
of  1849,  in  transmitting  the  ordinance  above  mentioned  to 
the  legislature  for  ratification,  remarked  that  such  a  normal 
department,  with  a  system  of  teachers'  institutes,  may 
answer  present  needs.  In  this  remark  we  find  crystallized  in 
official  expression  the  prevailing  idea  of  the  leading  edu- 
cators of  that  time,  of  a  system  of  teachers'  institutes,  having 


296      HISTORY   OF   teachers'   INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN. 

organic  and  vital  relation  to  normal  instruction.  Here  is 
the  germ  of  the  system  since  wrought  out  and  put  in  practice 
by  the  thoughtful  and  self-sacrificing  men  and  women  who 
have  devoted  their  lives  to  the  work  of  public  and  general  edu- 
cation in  the  state.  It  is  important  to  bear  this  in  mind  and 
hold  in  grateful  remembrance  the  sagacious  men  Avho  con- 
ceived and  put  forth  this  germinal  idea  of  institute  work. 
Although  not  immediately  or  practically  realized,  this  scheme 
was  thoroughly  embedded  in  the  minds  of  the  friends  and 
champions  of  the  public  school  system.  Over  this  ideal  they 
brooded,  until  the  time  came  when  it  was  practicable  to 
realize  it  in  actual  and  successful  experience. 

The  constitution  of  the  state  provided  for  the  supervi- 
sion of  schools  through  a  "state  superintendent  and  such 
other  officers  as  the  legislature  may  direct."  By  law  the 
office  of  town  superintendent  was  created.  Each  town  super- 
intendent examined  and  qualified  teachers  within  his  own 
jurisdiction.  Great  diversity  in  the  qualifications  of  teachers 
necessarily  prevailed,  and  the  schools,  of  course,  reflected  in 
exaggerated  form  the  weakness  or  strength  and  fitness  of 
the  teachers  employed.  By  the  reports  of  the  early  superin- 
tendents, it  is  evident  that  no  one  fact  so  strongly  impressed 
them  as  the  need  of  professional  instruction  and  inspiration, 
and  they  did  what  they  could  to  meet  this  need.  They 
labored  assiduously  with  the  legislature  to  secure  the  estab- 
lishment of  normal  instruction  in  some  form.  They  were 
ably  seconded  in  their  efforts  by  the  faculty  of  the  university, 
and  by  a  few  leading  and  able  men  who  had  charge  of  the 
public  schools  in  the  few  cities  and  principal  villages  that 
were  organized.  Unsuccessful  in  their  application  for  aid 
to  the  legislature  they  "  bated  not  one  jot  of  heart  or  hope," 
but  turned  to  their  own  individual  exertions,  and  in  their 
zeal  and  public  spirit  went  from  point  to  point,  held  meet- 
ings for  mutual  help  and  inspiration,  and  for  the  comparison 
of  methods  and  discussion  of  theories. 

January  1,  1852,  Hon.  Azel  P.  Ladd,  the  second  state 
superintendent,  assumed  official  position.  Failing  to  secure 
an  appropriation  from  the  legislature  to  defray  the  expenses, 
he  organized  and  held  in  various  localities  in  the  state  what 
were  termed  "  temporary  normal  schools."  In  his  report 
for  1853,  he  said  :  "  To  mitigate  the  disadvantages  arising 
from  the  engagement  of  a  number  of  persons  so  diversified 
in  qualifications  and  character,  I  have  adopted  the  system 
of  holding  temporary  normal  schools  for  their  instruction 


HISTORY   OF  teachers'    INSTITUTES   IN    WISCONSIN.      207 

ill  the  branches  of  science  and  the  art  of  teaching.  The.se 
schools  have  been  thus  far  conducted  under  manifold  em- 
barrassments, without  legal  provision  for  their  organization 
or  means  for  their  support.  *  *  *  j  ^m  satisfied  that 
they  have  been  of  practical  utility,  and  that  great  good 
would  result  from  their  incorporation  into  one  general  plan 
of  public  instruction." 

Here  we  have  the  beginning  of  normal  schools  and 
teachers'  institutes  vitally  connected,  an  attempt  to  realize 
and  exemplify  the  ideal  of  a  predecessor. 

Superintendent  Ladd  was  succeeded  in  1854  by 
Hon.  H.  A.  Wright.  He  lived  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his 
office  but  a  little  more  than  a  year,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Hon.  A.  C.  Barry.  During  his  administration,  town  super- 
intendents, to  some  extent,  and  the  more  progressive  teachers 
began  holdiog  teachers'  institutes  in  country  places,  local- 
ities not  reached  by  the  temporary  normal  schools.  These 
were  largely  held  for  a  single  day,  on  Saturdays,  were  en- 
tirely voluntary,  and  devoted  to  exemplification  of  methods 
of  teaching,  especially  of  mental  and  written  arithmetic, 
grammar,  or  parsing,  and  geography,  the  latter  largely  con- 
sisting of  practice  of  systems  of  map  drawing.  Persons  were 
secured  to  lecture,  if  possible,  and  discussions  of  the  exercises 
presented  resulted  in  much  mental  quickening,  and  the  dif- 
fusion of  knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  awakening  and 
maintaining  the  interest  of  pupils.  Often  a  teacher  would 
take  to  the  place  of  meeting  a  class  of  bright  and  apt  pupils, 
— a  model  class — and  exemplify  methods.  Classes  would  be 
formed  of  teachers  present,  and  these  put  through  a  course 
of  practice  in  recitation  on  the  simplest  parts  of  elementary 
subjects.  The  "model"  class  would  frequently  excel  in 
quickness  and  accuracy,  and  thus  vindicate  the  method  of 
their  teacher,  humiliate  for  the  time  being  the  selected  class 
of  teachers,  and  provoke  to  study  and  emulation.  The 
teachers  of  some  towns  would  sometimes  send  word  they 
would  hold  a  session  of  their  institute  in  a  neighboring  town, 
perhaps  a  benighted  one,  where  no  such  efforts  for  improve- 
ment existed.  These  were  often  the  occasion  of  considerable 
attendance  of  citizens,  and  the  exhibitions  of  the  model 
class,  in  contrast  with  the  inertness  of  their  own  teachers, 
would  create  quite  a  sensation,  and  set  the  town  to  talking, 
and  result  in  improved  school  sentiment  and  practices. 

This  type  of  institutes  continued  for  many  years,  and 
although  not  true  to   the  original  ideal,  except  remotely. 


298      HISTORY   OF   teachers'   INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN. 

had  its  place  in  moulding  public  sentiment  and  preparing 
for  the  better  way  that  followed. 

^^  During  Superintendent  Barry's  administration  of  three 
years  he  secured  the  passage  of  an  act  authorizing  the  state 
superintendent  to  hold  teachers'  institutes,  and  appro- 
priating annually  not  to  exceed  one  thousand  dollars  to  de- 
fray the  expense. 

Hon.  Lyman  C.  Draper  succeeded  Superintendent 
Barry,  and  the  institute  work  was  systematized  to  the 
extent  which  the  limited  means  warranted.  The  prominent 
teachers  of  the  state  engaged  in  the  work  with  intelligence 
and  ability.  Lectures  on  educational  topics,  discussion  of 
theories,  organization  and  management,  were  characteristic 
of  the  exercises.  J.  G.  McMynn,  Racine ;  J.  G.  McKindley, 
Kenosha;  Dr.  J.  H.  Magoffin  and  A.  A.  Giffith,  Waukesha; 
J.  L.  Pickard,  Platteville ;  W.  C.  Dustin,  Beloit;  H.  W.  Col- 
lins, Janesville ;  A.  C.  Spicer,  Milton  ;  W.  Van  Ness,  Fond 
du  Lac ;  W.  P.  Bartlett,  Watertown ;  J.  E.  Munger,  Waupun ; 
A.  Pickett,  Oshkosh  ;  D.  Y.  Kilgore,  Madison,  are  the  names 
of  gentlemen  who  did  valiant  service  in  these  pioneer  in- 
stitutes, and  wrought  a  work  of  untold  value  in  creating 
and  maintaining  worthy  and  high  standards  in  the  art  of 
teaching  and  the  qualifications  of  teachers  for  their  high 
calling. 

In  January,  1860,  Hon.  J.  L.  Pickard  succeeded  to  the 
superintendency.  During  the  preceding  year  the  interest 
in  teachers'  institutes  was  largely  increased  through  the  la- 
bors of  Dr.  Henry  Barnard,  of  Connecticut,  an  educator  of 
national  reputation,  who  was  acting  as  chancellor  of  the 
university,  and  agent  of  the  board  of  regents  of  normal 
schools  in  conducting  teachers'  institutes.  This  board  was 
created  in  1857,  and  provision  was  made  for  a  fund  to  be 
used  "for  the  encouragement  of  academies  and  normal 
schools."  This  fund  was  to  be  distributed  among  the  col- 
leges, academies  and  normal  schools  of  the  state  which  or- 
ganized, maintained  and  instructed  classes  for  normal 
training.  A  part  of  this  fund  was  used  in  maintaining 
teachers'  institutes.  It  is  not  clear  by  what  interpretation 
this  was  deemed  authorized,  but  Dr.  Barnard  was  appointed 
agent  of  the  board  to  examine  the  classes  of  institutions 
making  application  to  share  in  the  fund,  and  distribute  the 
money  pro  rata  according  to  the  number  successfully 
passing  the  examination.  He  was  also  to  conduct  teachers 
institutes  in  various  parts  of  the  state.     He  organized  a  nota- 


HISTORY   OF   teachers'    INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN.       299 

ble  corps  of  conductors  for  a  series  of  fourteen  institutes  at 
prominent  points  in  as  many  different  counties,  besides 
short  sessions  of  two  days  or  more  in  five  other  counties, 
At  most  of  these  Dr.  Barnard's  presence  and  addresses  were 
strong  attractions,  and  the  membership  numbered  over 
fourteen  hundred  in  the  aggregate. 

Among  his  co-workers  were  Prof.  John  Ogden,  of  Ohio; 
Fordyce  H.  Allen  and  Chas.  H.  Allen,  of  Pennsylvania; 
C.  E.  Hovey,  of  Illinois;  Francis  T.  Russell  and  Wm.  S. 
Baker,  of  Connecticut;  John  G.  McMynn,  A.  J.  Craig  and 
others,  of  Wisconsin. 

During  the  years  of  Mr.  Pickard's  incumbency,  who 
was  twice  re-elected,  the  same  general  system  of  institute 
work  was  pursued.  Distinguished  teachers  of  our  own  and 
other  states  were  employed  as  conductors,  and  the  general 
purpose  was  to  inspire  a  professional  spirit,  incite  teachers 
to  make  better  preparation,  and  arouse  public  sentiment  to 
demand  better  schools. 

During  this  administration  the  town  superintendent  sys- 
tem was  abolished,  for  which  the  county  system  was  sub- 
stituted, and  by  law  each  county  superintendent  was  re- 
quired to  hold  at  least  one  institute  each  year  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  teachers.  Until  1867  these  institutes  were  held  by 
the  county  superintendents  independently,  each  arranging 
his  own  scheme,  and  depending  upon  the  leading  teachers  of 
his  own  district  for  assistance.  Naturally  they  partook 
largely  in  character  of  their  predecessors  under  the  town- 
ship system,  although  attendance  was  largely  increased, 
being  county  and  not  township  affairs.  Little  progress  was 
made,  however,  in  institute  work  tow^ard  the  ideal  from  1860 
to  1866.  The  coming  on  of  the  war  interfered.  Prof. 
Charles  H.  Allen  succeeded  Dr.  Barnard  as  agent  of  the 
board  of  regents,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  J.  G.  McMynn. 
These  gentlemen  both  enlisted  in  the  service  of  the  country, 
and  the  county  superintendents  were  inexperienced,  and 
often  were  persons  who  had  never  been  identified  with 
schools  or  school  work. 

In  September,  1864,  Col.  John  G.  McMynn  became  state 
superintendent,  upon  the  resignation  of  Hon.  J.  L.  Pickard 
to  take  the  superintendency  of  Chicago  city  schools.  He  had 
been  closely  allied  with  all  educational  thought  and  move- 
ment in  the  state  from  the  organization,  and  he  immediately 
began  a  vigorous  effort  to  secure  the  separate  organization  of 
state  normal  schools.     This  was  accomplished  in  1866.    The 


300      HISTORY   OF   teachers'   INSTITUTES   IN   WISCO^^SIN. 

law  then  enacted  provided  for  the  separate  estabhshment  of 
normal  schools  not  only,  but  enlarged  the  powers  and  means 
of  the  board  for  the  purpose  of  holding  teachers'  institutes. 
In  1867  the  board  adopted  a  plan  of  co-operation  with 
county  superintendents  in  holding  institutes,  by  offering  to 
pay  necessary  expenses  of  institutes,  under  certain  super- 
visory regulations,  which  was  cordially  and  generally  coin- 
cided in  by  county  superintendents. 

In  the  fall  of  1868,  Captain  Robert  Graham  was  appointed 
agent  of  the  board  to  organize,  systematize  and  supervise 
teachers'  institutes  in  the  state.  He  entered  vigorously  upon 
that  work,  which  he  continued  in  that  and  other  capacities 
until  he  was  elected  state  superintendent  in  the  fall  of  1881. 
No  other  man  in  the  state  has  rendered  more  efficient  ser- 
vice, or  left  a  deeper  or  more  beneficent  impression  upon 
the  teaching  force  of  the  state  than  Mr.  Graham.  His  close 
observation,  keen  analysis,  untiring  energy,  and  genius  in 
suggestiveness  were  unreservedly  given  to  the  institute  work, 
and  state  superintendents  and  committees  of  the  board  of 
regents  availed  themselves  without  reservation  of  his  valu- 
able services  and  co-operation. 

In  1871  the  legislature  authorized  still  further  expan- 
sion of  the  institute  work  by  making  provision  for  normal 
institutes,  to  be  held  in  such  localities  as  were  least  bene- 
fited by  existing  normal  schools,  three  of  which  had  at 
this  time  been  established  and  opened  to  the  public.  The 
board  of  regents  of  normal  schools  was  authorized  to  use 
five  thousand  dollars  annually  for  institute  purposes  from 
the  normal  school  income,  and  two  thousand  dollars  an- 
nually was  appropriated  from  the  general  fund  for  the 
same  purpose. 

The  time  had  now  come  to  put  into  practical  operation 
the  system  of  institutes  contemplated,  as  we  have  seen, 
from  the  beginning.  These  normal  institutes  were  to  be 
held  for  a  period  not  less  than  four  weeks.  Colonel  Samuel 
Fallows  had  succeeded  to  the  state  superintendency.  The 
entire  management  and  control  of  institutes  was  by  law  and 
by  act  of  the  board  of  regents  committed  to  the  state  super- 
intendent and  a  committee  of  the  board,  acting  conjointl3^ 
They  immediately  took  measures  to  organize  the  work. 
Co-operation  of  county  and  city  superintendents  was  con- 
tinued. These  arranged  the  time  and  places  for  holding 
the  institutes  in  their  respective  localities,  made  all  neces- 
sary incidental  arrangements  for  their  accommodation  and 


HISTORY   OF   teachers'   INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN.       301 

that  of  teachers,  and  made  application  in  writing  to  the 
state  superintendent  for  conductors.  The  committee  desig- 
nated and  paid  salaries  and  expenses  of  all  conductors  and 
lecturers.  Enrollment  blanks  and  registers  were  furnished 
upon  which  to  collect  statistics  of  name,  age,  daily  attend- 
ance, attendance  previously  at  institutes,  experience  in 
teaching  by  months,  highest  grade  of  school  attended  and 
highest  grade  of  certificate  held. 

The  committee  divided  the  state  into  districts  cor- 
responding to  the  number  of  normal  schools  existing,  and 
designated  one  of  the  faculty  in  each  school  as  an  institute 
conductor,  who  was  to  have  general  charge  of  the  institute 
work  in  the  district  in  which  he  resided.  This  was  never 
made  arbitrary  in  practice,  but  each  conducts  institutes  in 
other  districts,  in  conformity  to  requests  of  superintendents, 
or  convenience  as  related  to  time  and  place.  These  con- 
ductors are  subject  to  the  call  of  the  committee  for  institute 
work,  both  in  term  time  and  during  vacations  of  normal 
schools.  In  the  spring,  institutes  are  held  during  vacations 
of  country  and  village  schools,  during  March  and  April,  and 
in  summer  and  autumn,  in  August,  September  and  October. 
This  arrangement  was  ratified  by  the  board  of  regents,  and 
the  work  was  prosecuted  with  vigor.  The  normal  institutes 
were  held  in  August  and  September,  and  sometimes  extended 
to  six  weeks  in  duration.  The  principals  of  the  graded 
schools  co-operated  most  cordiallj',  and  many  of  them  were 
emploj'^ed  as  assistant  conductors,  at  nominal  salaries  and 
payment  of  expenses.  Two  conductors  were  usually  assigned 
to  an  institute  continuing  more  than  one  week,  who  alter- 
nated in  charge  of  the  institute,  all  attending  at  the  same 
time  to  the  same  exercise.  Latterly  some  effort  has  been 
made  to  separate  large  institutions  into  sections,  with  simul- 
taneous exercises  in  different  rooms,  where  practicable.  A 
number  of  female  teachers  of  prominence  and  skill  have  been 
employed  and  have  given  great  satisfaction. 

It  very  soon  became  apparent  that  still  greater  unity 
and  effectiveness  in  institute  work  was  desirable,  especially 
as  the  largely  increased  demand  for  conductors  made  it  nec- 
essary to  employ  many  men  who  had  no  experience  in  di- 
recting institutes.  At  the  suggestion  of  Prof.  Robert  Gra- 
ham, a  convention  of  institute  conductors  was  called  and  held 
at  Sparta  in  July,  1873.  All  who  desired  to  engage  in  insti- 
tute work  were  invited  to  attend,  and  the  committee  paid 
one-half  of  the  expenses  of  attendants.     This  was  an  exceed. 


302      HISTORY   OF   teachers'    INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN. 

ingly  valuable  meeting.  Under  the  leadership  of  Prof.  Gra- 
ham classes  were  formed,  and  methods  and  matter  of  insti- 
tute work  were  exemplified.  Discussion  followed  and  criti- 
cism was  keen  and  unsparing.  The  purposes  of  the  insti- 
tute were  clearly  and  strongly  emphasized,  and  the  fitness 
or  unfitness  of  applicants  for  this  especial  line  of  work  was 
manifest  to  themselves.  As  a  result  of  this  meeting  it  was 
decided  that  the  committee  should  annually  prepare  and 
publish  for  the  guidance  of  conductors  and  attendants  a 
syllabus  of  the  work  to  be  done  during  the  year,  which  in- 
cluded the  subjects  to  be  considered,  the  scope  or  topics  to 
receive  attention,  and  suggestions  as  to  method  of  treatment. 
This  proved  a  very  helpful  arrangement,  furnished  a  definite 
plan  of  work,  and  became  the  basis  of  assignment  of  prepar- 
atory study  daily  for  members  of  the  institutes. 

This  meeting  of  conductors  became  annual,  usually  held 
at  the  same  place  and  immediately  preceded  or  followed  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Wisconsin  teachers'  association,  largely 
attended  by  other  than  conductors,  and  considered  one  of 
the  most  inspiring  and  suggestive  of  our  educational  gather- 
ings. With  modifications  the  meetings  and  syllabus  have 
continued  to  the  present  time. 

The  first  arrangement  of  institute  districts  and  conduc- 
tors was  as  follows:  Platteville  school  district,  Duncan 
McGregor;  Whitewater,  Albert  Salisbury;  Oshkosh,  Robert 
Graham.  Two  others  have  since  been  arranged  upon  open- 
ing of  schools,  as  follows :  River  Falls,  Jesse  B.  Thayer ; 
Milwaukee,  Silas  Y.  Gillan.  It  is  certainly  within  the 
bounds  of  truth  and  propriety  to  assert  that  if  any  state  ever 
had  a  quintette  of  more  facile,  tactful,  able  and  conscien- 
tious institute  conductors  to  inaugurate  and  carry  on  for 
many  years  a  work  of  great  importance  and  vital  necessity, 
that  state  has  been  exceedingly  fortunate  and  unusually 
favored. 

Recent  changes,  with  one  exception,  by  promotion  to 
the  state  superintendency  or  to  the  presidency  of  normal 
schools,  have  entirely  changed  this  original  corps  of  princi- 
pal conductors.  At  present  thev  are  as  follows :  Platteville, 
A.  J.  Hutton  ;  Whitewater,  T."  B.  Pray  ;  Oshkosh,  W.  C. 
Hewitt ;  River  Falls,  W.  J.  Brier ;  Milwaukee,  C.  H.  Chap- 
man. 

This  is  the  system  of  teachers'  institutes  in  vogue  in 
Wisconsin.  We  have  traced  its  evolution  along  the  line  of 
relationship  to  normal  and  professional  work,  from  its  in- 


HISTORY   OF   teachers'   INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN.       303 

ception  to  its  culmination  in  close  and  vital  organic  relation 
with  separate  and  distinct  normal  schools  and  their  work. 
The  policy  controlling  this  feature  of  school  work  has  been 
continuous  and  uninterrupted.  State  superintendents  have 
changed  frequently,  but  for  twenty  j'ears  no  change  has 
occurred  in  the  head  of  the  committee  on  institutes  of  the 
board  of  regents.  Thus  the  experience,  the  traditions  and 
the  plans  in  detail  have  been  preserved,  constantly  available 
and  continuously  utilized,  for  progress  and  efficiency.  With- 
out exception,  the  relation  between  the  committee  of  the 
board  of  regents  and  the  state  superintendents  has  been  har- 
monious in  the  highest  degree.  No  political  or  personal 
bias  has  in  the  least  degree  disturbed  united  effort  for  the 
good  of  the  public. 

The  Wisconsin  teachers'  association  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  institute  work  at  all  times,  and  by  its  wise  and 
timely  discussions  and  criticisms  contributed  much  to  pro- 
mote growth  and  proper  development. 

It  remains  briefly  to  sum  up  the  results  of  these  many 
years  of  effort  along  the  lines  indicated  at  the  beginning  of 
this  paper. 

I.  During  the  year  ending  July  1,  1892,  eighty-five  in- 
stitutes were  held  in  sixty  different  counties — sixty-two  in  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1891,  and  twenty-three  in  the  spring  of  1892. 
These  were  in  session  an  aggregate  of  three  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  days.  In  ten  counties  only  no  institutes  were  held. 
Five  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventN'-nine  attendants  were 
enrolled  and  the  expense  of  the  same  was  $7,569.22.  This 
is  about  an  average  of  recent  years.  While  academic  in- 
struction is  not  directly  a  feature,  yet  incidentally  it  will 
at  once  be  seen  that  in  exemplification  of  matter  and  methods 
of  treatment,  a  vast  number  of  indifferently  qualified  teach- 
ers have  received  most  timely  and  excellent  instruction  by 
the  best  teachers  in  the  state.  This  Avill  be  more  api)arent  by  a 
statement  to  be  made  later.  The  statistics  gathered  at  the  be- 
ginning of  this  work  showed  that  a  large  proportion  of  attend- 
ants had  only  the  advantages  of  common  schools  and  often  very 
poor  schools. 

II.  The  effort  at  instruction  in  and  exemplification  of 
principles  underlying  correct  teaching,  has  revolutionized  the 
practices  of  teachers  in  class  work,  in  organization,  and  in 
management.  No  one  familiar  with  the  earlier  practices  in  Wis- 
consin schools  will  dispute  this  statement,  or  deny  that  the 
efficiency  of  many  of  them  has  been  quadrujiled  V)y  this  means. 
Even  the  earlier  and  crudely  managed  institutes  contributed 
largely  to  this  end  by  simply  revealing  the  practices  of  the  best 


304      HISTORY   OF   teachers'   INSTITUTES   IN   WISCONSIN. 

teacliers ;  and  the  later  institutes  have  largely  reinforced  the 
value  of  the  better  methods  by  inculcation  of  principles  upon 
which  they  are  based,  and  leading  to  an  intelligent  apprehen- 
sion and  appreciation  of  their  value  and  necessity. 

III.  In  nothing  has  the  value  of  the  institute  work  been 
more  apparent  than  in  the  spirit  of  emulation  which  has  been 
awakened,  and  the  effort  of  all  grades  of  teachera  to  use  all 
possible  means  of  improvement,  scholastic  and  professional. 
The  institute  has  thus  become  a  feeder  for  normal  and  high 
schools,  a  stimulus  to  private  study,  reflection  and  experiment. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  adaptation  of  institutes  for 
current  need.  Perhaps  a  word  in  the  way  of  illustration 
will  make  this  clear.  When  the  law  inaugurating  the  county 
superintendency  was  enacted,  requiring  written  exami- 
nations of  teachers,  and  establishing  certificates  of  three 
different  grades,  the  relations  of  teachers  w^as  greatly  changed. 
Through  the  institutes  these  matters  were  discussed,  proper 
tests  for  examinations  were  considered,  and  thus  teachers 
were  prepared  for  the  change,  and  county  superintendents 
themselves  were  greatly  assisted.  When  the  law  required 
teachers  to  be  examined  in  the  constitution  of  the  state  and  of 
the  I'nited  States,  and  later  in  physiology  and  hygiene, 
either  of  which  had  been  in  the  curriculum  of  but  very 
few  schools,  teachers  were  guided  into  the  proper  way  of 
studying  these  branches  and  fitting  themselves  for  the  new 
demands  of  the  state.  Still  later,  when  a  general  and 
strong  movement  was  made  to  improve  and  systematize 
instruction  in  ungraded  schools  by  the  introduction  of  a 
course  of  study,  the  institutes  took  up  that  work,  and  by 
exposition  and  illustration  greatly  aided  teachers  in  compre- 
hending the  course  and  the  methods  of  its  administration. 

Other  instances  of  adaptation  to  current  needs  might 
be  mentioned,  but  enough  have  been  cited  to  show  what  is 
meant  by  the  phrase  and  by  this  popular  feature  of  institute 
work.  W.  H.  Chandler. 


The  Wisconsin  Teachers'  Association. 


To  the  day  of  small  things  a  picturesque  interest  at- 
taches, as  furnishing  a  background  against  which  we  see 
more  clearly  the  extent  of  present  prosperity.  So  we  turn 
with  gratitude  and  pleasure  to  the  record  of  that  gathering 
in  Madison,  in  July,  1853,  at  which  eight  gentlemen  drew 
up  and  signed  a  constitution,  by  which  they  organized 
themselves  into  the  Wisconsin  teachers'  association.  They 
were  Josiah  L.  Pickard,  of  Platteville ;  Walter  Van  Ness,  oi 
Fond  du  Lac ;  J.  L.  Enos,  of  Madison  ;  R.  O.  Kellogg,  of 
Appleton ;  J.  G.  McMynn,  of  Riicine ;  S.  G.  Stacy,  of  Madi- 
son ;  J.  H.  Lathrop,  of  the  state  university ;  and  C.  B.  Good- 
rich, of  Mineral  Point.  The  constitution  has  remained  in 
force  to  the  present  time,  with  but  one  article  added  to  its 
provisions  (Article  VII.)  and  two  amendments  (to  Article 
II.  and  Article  VIII.,  originally  VII.),  The  second  article 
limited  membership  to  those  engaged  in  teaching  in  the 
state,  but  allowed  the  election  of  honorary  members,  who 
might  become  acting  members  by  the  payment  of  the  an- 
nual fee  of  one  dollar.  This  somewhat  jealous  limitation  of 
membership  is  noteworth}',  and  in  striking  contrast  with 
the  subsequent  practice  of  the  body,  in  which  membership 
is  determined  only  by  payment  of  the  fee. 

The  eight  original  members  chose  nine  honorary  mem- 
bers, among  them  the  state  superintendent,  and  completed 
their  organization  by  the  election  of  officers.  John  G.  jNIc- 
Mynn  was  the  first  president.  The  remainder  of  the  session 
was  occupied  with  four  addresses.  The  objects  of  the  asso- 
ciation are  succinctly  stated  in  the  first  article  of  its  consti- 
tution, as  the  "mutual  improvement  of  its  members  and  the 
advancement  of  public  education  throughout  the  state."  It 
seeks  primarily,  therefore,  the  gain  which  comes  to  those  en- 
gaged in  the  same  calling  by  interchange  of  views  and  clash 
of  opinions;  and,  in  the  second  place,  such  direct  influence 
upon  public  educational  policy  as  is  properly  conceded  to 
the  general  opinion  of  those  most  intimately  connected  with 
the  management  of  the  schools.  The  association  thus  be- 
comes a  great  agency  for  developing,  crystallizing  and  making 

305 


306  THE   WISCONSIN    TEACHKRs'   ASSOCIATION. 

effective  the  practical  judgment  of  the  educators  of  the  state; 
and  a  history  of  it  should  turn  aside  from  the  mere  record 
of  meetings  and  topics,  and  aim  to  set  forth  rather  the  way 
in  which  it  lias  attempted  to  realize  its  aims,  the  reasons  of 
its  failures,  and  the  true  measure  of  its  successes. 

Apathy  on  the  part  of  those  who  should  become  mem- 
bers and  the  natural  indifference  of  the  public  are  the  great 
difficulties  to  be  overcome;  and  these  became  realized  at  the 
second  annual  session.  Of  this  second  meeting,  held  at 
Madison,  August  9,  1854,  J.  L.  Pickard  says  in  his  historical 
sketch,  prepared  in  1860 : 

"  So  little  interest  was  felt,  by  either  the  teachers  of  the 
state  or  the  citizens  of  Madison,  that  those  Avho  came  to  attend 
the  association  could  find  no  one  expecting  them,  nor  that  any 
provision  had  been  made  even  for  a  place  in  which  to  hold  their 
meetings.  They 'happened  together' at  one  of  the  inns  of  the 
place,  and  after  much  time  spent  in  ft-uitless  search  for  some  one 
sufficiently  interested  in  the  cause  to  procure  them  a  suitable 
room,  they  sallied  forth  to  look  for  tliemselves.  At  length  in  an 
obscure  room  in  the  old  court  house,  of  which  one  of  them  had 
obtained  the  key,  and  by  the  light  of  a  few  tallow  candles  pur- 
chased by  one  of  their  number,  and  which,  for  the  want  of 
candlesticks,  were  held  by  the  hands  of  so  many  teachers,  with 
one  citizen  as  a  witness  of  their  proceedings — the  association 
entered  upon  its  business.  The  records  do  not  tell  us  how  many 
were  present,  but,  from  the  recollections  of  all  who  can  be  found 
we  learn  that  there  were  but  six  or  seven  teachers,  and  eight  or 
ten  book  agents  at  the  opening  of  the  session.  And  indeed  it 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  for  a  teachere'  association  could  not 
expect  to  be  popular  in  a  state  in  which  our  profession  was  so 
slightly  esteemed. 

"  The  remainder  of  the  session  Avas  much  better  attended, 
for  curiosity  was  somewhat  aroused  to  learn  what  could  induce 
men,  and  above  all  teachers,  to  come  from  home,  at  a  very  con- 
siderable expense  (in  those  days  they  had  no  'return  free'  tickets 
nor  deductions  from  hotel  bills),  to  attend  meetings  of  their  own 
craft. 

' '  In  consequence  of  the  discouraging  want  of  interest  felt 
in  our  organization,  it  was  seriously  proposed  that  the  institu- 
tion be  dropped  till  future  generations  should  be  able  to  pro- 
duce more  'live'  teachers  to  cany  it  on;  but  one  more  effort  was 
resolved  upon,  if  a  meeting  could  be  held  at  a  point  where  out- 
side influences  could  be  made  to  tell  in  our  favor.  Racine  was 
proposed,  which  put  an  end  to  further  discussion  in  the  mat- 
ter." 

As  a  practical  result  of  the  session,  a  charter  for  the  asso- 


THE   WISCONSIN   TEACHERS'    ASSOCIATION.  307 

ciation  was  secured  from  the  state  legislature  for  1855.  The 
first  meetings  were  necessarily  consumed  in  getting  under 
way,  and  their  real  success  was  evidenced  by  the  full  attend- 
ance at  Racine,  where  the  third  annual  session  was  held,  by 
the  hearty  reception  which  the  citizens  of  the  place  gave  to 
the  organization,  and  by  the  origination  of  an  important  edu- 
cational enterprise.  Here  the  young  association  took  upon 
itself  the  publication  of  an  organ,  and  appointing  an  edito- 
rial committee  which  made  one  of  its  members,  John  G. 
McMynn,  ''resident  editor,"  began  the  issuance  of  The  Wis- 
consin Journal  of  Education.  The  act  was  an  important  one, 
since  thus  was  created  an  instrumentality  for  furthering  all 
the  aims  of  the  association,  and  one  of  its  most  efficient 
means  for  overcoming  the  apathy  of  teachers  and  the  natu- 
ral indifference  of  the  public.  In  the  Journal  of  Education 
the  association  found  a  voice,  and  began  to  make  itself  heard 
in  the  most  remote  portions  of  the  state.  Through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  association,  that  state  aid  was  secured  which 
enabled  the  Journal  to  survive  through  a  long  period  of 
struggle  and  difficulty;  and  when  this  was  withdrawn  and 
the  enterprise  suspended  for  several  years  in  con.sequence, 
the  action  of  the  association  again  called  it  into  existence, 
and  continued  to  foster  it  and  shape  its  future. 

At  the  fifth  annual  meeting,  held  at  Waukesha  in  1857, 
"the  necessity  of  normal  schools"  appeared  as  a  topic  for 
consideration.  The  timeliness  of  it  and  the  reason  for  the 
special  form  of  the  discussion  appear  from  the  fact  that  in 
that  3-ear  the  state  legislature  passed  the  act  creating  from 
one  fourth  of  the  swamp  land  act  the  normal  school  income, 
and  providing  that  it  should  be  distributed  among  the  acad- 
emies and  colleges  maintaining  normal  classes.  Shortly 
after  the  high  schools  were  added  to  the  list  of  beneficiaries, 
under  like  conditions.  Thus  there  was  a  strong  tendency 
to  dissipate  the  fund,  and  to  lose  wholly  the  advantages 
which  come  of  professional  schools,  with  a  professional 
spirit,  which  the  aspirants  for  a  teacher's  diploma  breathe 
during  their  novitiate,  until  it  forms  their  own  ideals.  The 
recurrence  of  the  topic  of  normal  instruction  at  subsequent 
sessions  of  the  association  evinces  its  importance  as  an 
agency  for  formulating  and  disseminating  educational 
opinion. 

It  seems  like  a  prophetic  insight  that  at  the  eighth  an- 
nual meeting,  at  Milwaukee  in  1860,  J.  L.  Pickard's  history 
of  the  association  up  to  that  time  was  read  ;  for  this  meeting 


308  THE   WISCONSIN   TEACHERS'    ASSOCIATION. 

closed  its  first  era.  The  civil  war  touched  it  as  it  touched 
every  other  institution  of  the  country,  and  for  a  time  with 
depressing  influences.  The  first  era  created  the  association, 
created  the  Journal  of  Education  and  commenced  the  efforts 
to  mould  public  opinion  •  on  educational  matters.  What 
else  it  did  may  not  be  so  clearly  told.  It  helped  to  form 
the  men  who  gave  it  their  thought  and  energy,  and  it  ac- 
customed the  educators  of  the  new  state  to  work  together 
for  common  ends  and  to  reahze  their  need  of  escaping  oat 
of  the  isolation  to  which  the  nature  of  their  work  in  a 
measure  subjects  them.  It  is  difficult  to  get  a  general  view 
of  the  topics  discussed,  but  help  towards  it  will  be  gained 
by  considering  them  as  general  essays  and  practical  themes. 
It  is  altogether  natural  that  the  first  should  predominate 
in  the  early  period,  and  the  best  result  of  them  was  prob- 
ably emotional — the  stimulating  of  zeal  for  the  cause.  In 
the  second  class  also  we  may  note  a  tendency  to  general 
rather  than  specific  themes,  and  to  the  organization  and 
form  of  education  rather  than  to  its  principles  and  practices. 

A  third  era  in  the  history  of  the  association  was  created 
by  the  development  of  executive  sessions,  in  1873.  The  in- 
tervening period  may  be  characterized  in  general  as  the 
institute  period.  It  was  a  reflex  of  this  new  form  of  educa- 
tional effort  which  was  organized  in  the  state  in  1859.  Dr. 
Henry  Barnard  was  the  first  general  agent  of  the  state  for 
this  work,  and  J.  G.  McMynn,  J.  B.  Pradt  and  J.  C.  Pickard 
also  served  in  this  capacity.  That  the  association  should  be 
powerfully  influenced  by  the  new  movement  was  therefore 
natural,  and  in  most  of  the  programs  of  the  period  in- 
stitute exercises  and  class  exercises  constitute  an  important 
feature.  It  seems  a  strange  vagary  that  a  gathering  of  the 
principal  teachers  and  superintendents  of  a  state  should  so 
largely  assume  this  form,  which  educationally  is  a  school 
form  and  not  an  association  form.  Though  but  one  element 
of  the  program,  it  is  manifest  that  the}^  determined 
essentially  the  character  of  the  gathering.  The  association 
has  become,  in  part,  at  least,  a  place  for  the  instruction  of 
teachers  in  school-room  methods. 

It  is  not  surprising  that,  with  this  conception  dominant, 
the  purpose  of  influencing  the  educational  policy  of  the 
state  should  have  dropped  almost  completely  out  of  sight. 
The  programs  during  these  years  are  remarkable  for  the . 
absence  of  administrative  topics.  We  note  but  two,  a  report 
on  revision  of  school  laws,  by  J.  B.   Pradt,  and  an  essay  on 


THE   WISCONSIN   TEACHERS'    ASSOCIATION.  309 

education  of  idiots,  by  T.  H.  Little,  of  Janesville.  We  find 
evidence  that  at  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  meetings  the 
state  was  urged  to  provide  for  the  maintenance  and  educa- 
tion of  soldiers'  orphans,  and  that  at  the  eleventh  meeting 
"the  establishment  of  a  grade  of  permanent  or  professional 
teachers'  certificates,  to  be  granted  to  graduates  of  normal 
schools  and  others  who  pass  the  required  examinations"  was 
recommended.  That  this  drift  of  the  annual  meeting  was 
recognized  and  deplored  by  some  leading  spirits  is  evidenced 
by  the  appearance,  in  1867,  of  an  executive  session,  held  in 
mid-winter  in  Madison,  which  is  announced  to  be  "for  the 
discussion  of  questions  of  state  policy."  The  brief  scheme 
of  the  meeting  shows  a  handful  of  them,  compulsory  educa- 
tion, teachers'  institutes,  normal  schools,  education  for  the 
feeble-minded  and  school  supervision.  In  1868  another 
such  session  was  held,  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  the  county 
superintendency.  It  seemed  as  if  virility  were  returning 
to  the  organization ;  but  the  time  was  not  yet  fully  ripe. 
No  more  "  executive  sessions "  appear  in  this  period,  and 
the  annual  gatherings  hold  to  the  established  type. 

Among  the  topics  discussed  it  is  easy  to  recognize  a  new 
class,  akin  to  the  prevalent  tendencies  of  the  times  and  yet 
cognate  to  the  legimate  aims  of.  the  body.  These  may  be 
"styled  essays  in  methodics.  They  discuss  the  relations,  aims, 
limits  and  ways  of  teaching  different  branches  of  the  school 
curriculum. 

From  1873,  at  which  point  we  place  the  beginning  of  the 
third  era  in  the  history  of  the  association,  the  executive  ses- 
sions, held  in  December  at  Madison,  occur  annually.  At  first 
the  contrast  between  them  and  the  summer  meetings  is  very 
marked.  They  are  almost  wholly  occupied  with  questions 
of  educational  policy,  while  the  summer  gatherings  maintain 
the  old  type,  with  slight  modifications.  The  essays  in  meth- 
odics increase  in  number  and  apparently  in  definiteness  of 
doctrine,  addresses,  literary,  historical  and  philosophical,  find 
a  place,  and  entertainments  and  summer  excursions  are  com- 
mon. The  center  of  gravity  of  the  association  has  changed 
to  the  winter  session,  because  the  deeper  significance  of  the 
questions  of  policy  makes  itself  felt.  The  range  and  quality 
of  the  papers  offered  in  the  summer  steadily  improves ;  the 
meetings  are  large ;  they  are  held  at  various  points  about  the 
state,  and  awaken  considerable  local  interest ;  but  they  al- 
ready feel  the  touch  of  decay. 

As  the  executive  sessions  grow  in  numbers  a   change 


310  THE   WISCONSIN   TEACHERS'   ASSOCIATION. 

comes  over  the  programs.  They  take  on  features  well 
known  in  the  summer  meetings.  This  is  first  noteworthy  in 
the  programme  for  1877.  In  it  we  find  the  popular  address, 
the  essay  in  methbdics,  and  the  general  educational  thesis, 
mingled  with  questions  of  policy,  and  at  subsequent  sessions 
the  invaders  steadily  gain  ground.  In  some  respects  the 
years  1877  to  1889  constitute  the  golden  age  of  the  associ- 
ation. Never  was  there  a  wider  range  of  interest,  greater 
vigor  in  the  discussions,  more  ability  in  the  addresses,  or 
higher  finish  in  the  papers. 

But  the  logic  of  the  situation  soon  began  to  make  itself 
felt.  The  change  which  ushered  in  the  present  period  came 
from  two  general  considerations.  Why  attempt  to  have  two 
gatherings  of  a  similar  character  each  year  ?  Is  not  the 
winter  meeting  quite  enough  for  the  practical  ends  of  the 
organization?  The  drawback  is  that  it  cannot  reach  and 
affect  equally  all  parts  of  the  state.  Then  came  the  second 
consideration.  The  state  has  grown  wonderfully.  If  the  sum- 
mer meeting,  by  moving  from  point  to  point,  has  served  to 
stimulate  popular  interest  in  education,  and  to  reach  at  each 
point  a  different  body  of  teachers,  why  not  increase  this  use- 
fulness, and  adjust  to  the  new  conditions  in  the  state,  b\^ 
favoring  the  formation  of  sectional  associations  in  different 
portions  of  the  state,  doing  away  with  the  summer  meeting 
to  make  room  for  them  ?  These  considerations  led  to  the 
action  at  Waukesha,  in  1889,  by  which  the  annual  meeting 
of  the  Wisconsin  teachers'  association  was  fixed  in  Madison 
in  December. 

The  anticipated  result  followed.  The  Southeastern 
and  Southwestern  Wisconsin  teachers'  associations  were 
formed  the  same  year,  and  shortly  after  the  Northeastern 
and  Northwestern  associations.  These  now  meet  during  the 
spring  and  summer,  while  the  general  association  in  the 
winter  serves  to  keep  up  the  unity  of  interest  and  action 
throughout  the  state.  Thus  the  spirit  of  the  "  executive 
session  "  has  become  the  spirit  of  the  annual  meeting,  which 
never  more  earnestly  and  effectively  sought  after  practical 
results  than  it  does  at  present.  The  academic  essay  has  al- 
most entirely  disappeared  from  the  general  program.  Ad- 
dresses by  distinguished  speakers  and  on  varied  topics  are 
still  sought  after  to  give  zest  and  variety  to  the  gatherings. 
The  essaj's  in  methodics  also  have  a  legitimate  place  and 
produce  valuable  results.  But  the  stress  of  the  meetings  is 
put  upon  questions  of  educational  policy. 


THE   WISCONSIN   TEACHERS'    ASSOCIATION.  311 

To  set  forth  the  practical  results  of  the  work  of  the  asso- 
ciation is  a  difficult  task.  Some  of  the  most  valuable  ones 
are  intangible.  We  may  not  esteem  lightly,  because  we  cannot 
measure  it,  the  value  of  the  acquaintanceships,  the  general 
understanding  of  educational  policy,  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  the  different  educational  institutions  of  the  state.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  show  that,  without  the  intervention  of 
legislation,  influences  which  have  been  felt  far  and  wide  in 
the  schools  of  the  state  have  gone  out  from  this  body.  Take 
for  illustration  the  course  of  study  for  common  schools,  the 
plans  for  which  originated  in  the  association,  and  most  of 
the  important  changes  in  its  details  are  due  to  their  deliber- 
ations. Or  note  some  of  the  effects  of  its  discussions  upon 
the  courses  of  study  of  the  graded  and  high  schools.  Read- 
ing in  grammar  grades  has  broken  away  from  the  mechan- 
ical processes  of  the  reader-class,  and  become  a  study  of 
literature ;  elementary  science  has  come  into  all  the  grades 
below  the  high  schools ;  the  history  of  our  country  is  now 
taught  quite  generally  below  the  high  school;  manual  train- 
ing has  taken  root  in  several  of  our  schools ;  and  all  these 
and  many  other  movements  were  promoted  by  discussions 
in  the  Wisconsin  teachers'  association. 

If  we  look  for  effects  upon  legislation  we  may  point  to 
many.  The  Wisconsin  summer  school  was  organized  by  a 
committee  of  the  association,  and  the  aid  from  the  state  se- 
cured for  it  by  their  efforts.  The  move  for  district  school 
libraries  originated  with  this  body.  The  association  has 
made  itself  felt  in  the  provisions  for  granting  teachers'  cer- 
tificates, which  still  demand  at  their  hands  further  efforts 
for  improvement.  The  movement  for  better  equipment 
of  the  state  superintendent's  office  and  the  creation  of  an 
inspector  of  high  schools  is  due  to  them.  They  have  striven 
hard  and  repeatedly  to  secure  the  establishment  of  a  school 
for  feeble-minded  children,  and,  though  repeatedly  disap- 
pointed, they  still  cling  persistently  to  their  purpose,  as  their 
action  at  the  last  session  fully  shows.  Other  large  problems 
engaged  their  attention  then,  a  radical  reform  of  the  county 
superintendency,  and  such  a  recasting  of  the  provisions  for 
teachers'  certificates  as  will  cause  the  great  body  to  move 
for^ya^d  instead  of  standing  still. 

The  indications  of  steady  gro\\i;h  in  breadth  and  dis- 
tinctness of  purpose,  and  in  practical  usefulness  which  this 
review  of  the  past  of  the  association  brings  to  light,  are  full 
of  promise  for  its  future.     The  rapid  development  of  the 


312  THE   WISCONSIN   TEACHERS'    ASSOCIATION. 

high  schools  of  the  state,  and  of  professional  superintendents 
of  our  city  school  systems,  and  the  increasing  effects  of 
normal  and  university  training  upon  those  engaged  in  teach- 
ing in  the  schools,  assure  continued  advancement. 

J.  W.  Steakns. 


APPENDIX. 

THE   CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  WISCONSIN    TEACHERS'  ASSOCIATION. 

Article  I.  This  association  shall  be  called  the  Wisconsin 
teachers'  association,  and  shall  have  for  its  object  the  mu- 
tual improvement  of  its  members,  and  the  advancement  of 
public  education  throughout  the  state. 

Article  11.  (As  amended  July  25,  1867.)  This  associa- 
tion shall  consist  of  school  officers  and  persons  engaged  in 
teaching  throughout  the  state,  who  shall  pay  one  dollar  annu- 
ally ;  from  this  tax  female  teachers  shall  be  exempt.  Honor- 
ary members  may  be  elected  at  any  annual  meeting,  and 
may,  by  the  payment  of  the  annual  fee,  become  active 
members. 

Article  III.  The  officers  of  this  association  shall  be  a 
president,  three  vice-presidents,  a  secretary,  a  treasurer,  and  a 
board  of  five  counselors,  who,  with  the  president  and  secre- 
tary, shall  constitute  an  executive  committee — any  three  of 
whom  shall  be  a  quorum — to  be  elected  by  ballot  at  each 
annual  meeting. 

Article  IV.  The  duties  of  the  president,  vice-president, 
secretary  and  treasurer,  shall  be  such  as  pertain  to  the  same 
offices  in  similar  associations. 

Article  V.  The  executive  committee  shall  arrange  busi- 
ness for  the  annual  meetings,  procure  lecturers  for  the  same, 
and  through  the  secretary  of  the  association,  who  shall  be 
ex-officio  their  secretary,  conduct  such  correspondence  as 
may  be  deemed  advisable. 

They  shall  also  have  power  to  call  special  meetings  of 
the  association  to  fill  all  vacancies  occurring  in  the  offices, 
and  shall  make  to  the  association  an  annual  report  of  their 
proceedings. 

Article  VI.  The  annual  meeting  shall  be  held  at  such 
time  and  place  as  the  executive  committee  may  designate, 
and  any  five  members  who  shall  meet  at  a  regular  or  spec- 
ial meeting  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of 
business. 


THE   WISCONSIN   TEACHERS'   ASSOCIATION,  313 

Article  A^I.  (Inserted  July  25,  1867.)  The  executive 
committee  shall  have  power  to  call  an  executive  session  of 
the  association  for  the  purpose  of  considering  questions  of 
educational  policy,  at  such  a  time  and  place  as  they  may 
deem  advisable. 

Article  VIII.  (As  amended  July  22,  1868.)  This  con- 
stitution ma}'  be  amended  at  any  regular  meeting  of  the  as- 
sociation, provided  the  proposed  amendment  shall  have  been 
submitted  in  writing  at  least  one  regular  meeting  previous 
to  its  adoption. 


Summer  Schools  for  Teachers. 


Within  a  few  years  there  has  sprung  up  in  Wisconsin 
an  interesting  movement  for  the  improvement  of  pubHc 
school  teachers.  It  is  commonly  called  the  summer  school 
movement,  though  the  phrase  summer  school  had  been 
previously  in  use  to  designate  one  of  the  sessions,  and  usually 
the  smallest,  of  the  common  district  school.  The  type  of 
educational  effort  now  indicated  by  it  had  its  origin  beyond 
the  boundary  of  Wisconsin.  So  far  as  we  have  been  able  to 
ascertain,  the  first  summer  school  in  the  state,  which  has  had 
a  continuous  history  for  several  years, was  opened  at  Cassville, 
in  Grant  county,  in  1886,  by  Professor  C.  R.  Sho waiter,  now 
of  the  Platteville  normal  school.  He  was  at  that  time  prin- 
cipal of  a  public  school,  and  aimed  to  afford  to  teachers  in 
the  country  an  opportunity  of  improving  themselves  in  the 
branches  they  were  to  teach  by  attending  his  school  during 
six  weeks  of  the  long  summer  vacation.  The  attendance 
was  not  large  the  first  year,  but  increased  rapidly  until  it 
reached  nearly  a  hundred.  The  experiment  was  strictly  a 
private  enterprise.  As  the  teachers  paid  for  the  instruction 
which  they  received  the  experiment  demonstrated  the  exis- 
tence of  a  demand  for  assistance  of  this  sort,  and  in  1888 
several  schools  of  similar  character  were  opened  in  different 
counties  of  the  state.  Since  then  the  growth  has  been  rapid. 
As  the  schools  are  private  enterprises,  and  no  regular  reports 
are  received  from  them,  it  is  not  possible  to  make  accurate 
statements  as  to  their  number,  but  during  the  summer  of 
1892,  the  Wisconsin  Journal  of  Education  contained  notices 
of  thirty -seven.  The  evidence  available  as  to  their  enroll- 
ment points  to  the  conclusion  that  from  sixty  to  seventy-five 
per  cent,  of  those  in  attendance  are  actually  engaged  in 
teaching.  Some  of  the  schools  enrolled  upwards  of  one 
hundred  pupils,  so  that  it  seems  safe  to  estimate  that  at  least 
fifteen  hundred  persons  were  in  attendance  upon  them  during 
that  summer.  What  are  known  as  "  third  grade  "  branches 
constituted  the  core  of  the  instruction  given  in  these  schools, 
though  the  programs  at  hand   seem  to   indicate  that   few 

311 


SUMMER  SCHOOLS   FOR  TEACHERS.  315 

of  them  confined  themselves  to  these,  and  some  might  not 
inappropriately  be  called  summer  high  schools. 

The  most  important  movement  of  this  sort  was  inaug- 
urated by  the  Wisconsin  teachers'  association,  at  its  meeting 
in  December  of  1886.  After  some  discussion  of  the  subject, 
a  committee  of  three,  consisting  of  C.  H.  Keyes,  F.  H.  King 
and  J.  W.  Stump,  was  appointed  to  make  arrangements,  if 
possible,  for  the  opening  of  a  summer  school  of  science  and 
pedagogy  at  the  state  university.  The  purpose  was  to  aid 
those  engaged  in  the  work  of  teaching  in  the  high  schools 
of  the  state,  and  especially  to  increase  their  interest  in  the 
principles  of  teaching,  and  to  introduce  improved  methods 
of  instruction  in  the  natural  sciences.  The  university  au- 
thorities readily  granted  the  use  of  class  rooms  and  collec- 
tions in  Science  hall ,  and  four  of  the  professors  in  the  uni- 
versity, Prof.  J.  W.  Stearns,  Prof.  E.  A.  Birge,  Prof.  W.  W. 
Daniells  and  Prof.  Lucius  Heritage,  with  the  aid  of  Prof. 
F.  H.  King,  then  connected  with  the  River  Falls  normal 
school,  agreed  to  devote  four  weeks  of  the  summer  vacation 
to  the  service  of  the  school.  Courses  were  announced  in 
psychology,  pedagogy,  physiology,  botany,  physics,  physical 
geography,  chemistry  and  Latin.  The  first  session  opened 
July  18,  1887.  Forty  students,  most  of  them  teachers  in  the 
high  schools  of  the  state,  presented  themselves  for  instruc- 
tion. 

Although  the  enrollment  was  not  large,  it  was  repre- 
sentative in  character,  and  the  results  were  regarded  as  so 
valuable  by  the  students,  and  so  encouraging  by  the  instruc- 
tors, that  a  second  session  was  arranged  for  the  following 
summer  with  nearly  the  same  program.  The  board  of 
regents  of  normal  schools  were  induced  to  make  a  small 
appropriation  for  the  school,  to  help  out  its  limited  income 
until  more  permanent  aid  for  it  could  be  secured  from  the 
state.  The  enrollment  this  year  was  forty-five.  An  appro- 
priation of  a  thousand  dollars  per  year  in  aid  of  the  enter- 
prise was  secured  from  the  legislature,  and  thus  the  contin- 
uation of  the  school  was  assured,  and  those  in  charge 
enabled  to  announce  sixteen  courses  with  seven  instructors 
for  1889.  The  rapid  growi:h  of  the  school  from  this  time  is 
sufficiently  indicated  by  the  following  statements:  In  1890 
there  were  9  instructors,  131  students  and  21  courses;  in  1891 
there  were  10  instructors,  145  students  and  24  courses; 
and  in  1892,  12  instructors,  190  students  and  32  courses. 

The  instructors  have  been  for  the  most  part  taken  from 


316  SUMMER   SCHOOLS   FOR   TEACHERS. 

the  faculty  of  the  state  university,  but  in  1889  Professor 
Wm.  M.  Davis,  of  Harvard  university,  wag  secured  to  give  a . 
course  in  physical  geography.  In  18S9  and  1890  Professor 
A.  L.  Kimball,  of  Johns  Hopkins,  gave  the  courses  in 
physics,  and  in  1891  Professor  S.  J.  Saunders,  from  Cornell  uni- 
versity. The  course  in  English  literature  in  1891  was  given 
by  Professor  Nathaniel  Butler,  of  Champaign,  111.,  now  of 
Chicago  university ;  and  in  1892  by  Professor  0.  B.  Clark, 
of  Indiana  university.  In  1891  Professor  Stanley  Coulter,  of 
Purdue  university,  gave  the  course  in  botany.  Professor 
George  Beck,  of  Platteville  normal  school,  in  1888,  and  Pro- 
fessor S.  Y.  Gillan,  of  the  Milwaukee  normal  school,  in  1890, 
gave  the  courses  in  geography. 

That  this  school  has  strongly  affected  the  teaching  in  the 
high  schools  of  the  state  might  be  safely  inferred  from  the 
statement  of  its  enrollment.  The  testimony  of  superinten- 
dents and  high  school  inspectors  fully  confirms  the  inference. 
Four  weeks  spent  at  the  state  university,  in  the  use  of  its 
collections,  laboratories  and  library,  under  competent  direc- 
tion, could  not  fail  to  affect  the  ideals  of  any  teacher.  Through 
this  school  the  university  has  most  effectively  extended  its 
influence  into  the  various  communities  of  the  state,  and,  as 
a  consequence,  has  drawn  into  its  classes  not  a  few  of  those  who 
first  came  up  simply  to  spend  there  four  weeks  of  the  summer. 
Others  not  able  to  compass  a  continuous  course  of  univer- 
sity study  have  come  up  to  the  school  for  successive  sum- 
mers, and,  concentrating  their  energies  upon  one  or  two  lines 
of  effort,  have  gained  for  themselves  noteworthy  advance- 
ment in  these.  The  school  also  has  begun  to  draw  students 
in  considerable  number  from  neighboring  states.  It  has,  in 
fact,  fully  justified  the  wisdom  of  those  who  originated  it  and 
have  given  it  their  constant  encouragement. 

J.  W.  Stearns. 


National    German-American  Teachers'  Semi- 
nary. 


This  school,  ranking  among  the  first  and  best  edu- 
cational institutions  of  Milwaukee,  recently  completed  its 
fortieth  year.  It  was  established  under  the  auspices  of  the 
"Milwaukee  Schulverein"  and  the  directorship  of  Peter 
Engelmann.  The  name  and  fame  of  the  institution  were 
greatly  due  to  his  skill  and  untiring  zeal  as  an  educator. 
Since  his  death,  the  following  gentlemen  have  filled  the  posi- 
tion of  director:  W.  N.  Hailmann,  of  Detroit,  Mich.;  I. 
Keller,  of  Hoboken,  N.  J. ;  Dr.  H.  Dorner,  of  Milwaukee,  and, 
since  1888,  Emil  Dapprich,  of  Belleville,  111. 

The  excellent  work  of  the  school  induced  the  well-known 
German  families,  Pfister  and  Vogel,  to  make  liberal  donations 
for  its  benefit,  enabling  it  to  remove  to  its  present  location 
on  Broadway,  where  it  occupies  one  of  the  best  school  edifices 
in  the  city.  The  building  and  grounds  were  donated  by 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  Pfister  and  Mrs.  Louisa  Vogel,  in  memory  of 
the  late  Guido  Pfister.  The  building,  unique  in  design,  is 
admirably  arranged,  and  provided  with  all  modern  improve- 
ments. Among  its  notable  features  are  the  large,  light  and 
convenient  class-rooms,  supplied  with  pure  air  by  the  most 
improved  system  of  ventilation  and  heating,  the  location  of 
the  toilet  rooms,  and  the  system  of  plumbing. 

The  curriculum  of  the  school  provides  for  a  broad  and 
thorough  education,  in  both  German  and  English,  in  the 
branches  usually  taught  in  public  schools,  and  a  number  of 
branches  not  ordinarily  taught.  For  natural  science  teach- 
ing a  museum  and  a  physical  and  chemical  laboratory  are 
provided,  while  the  kindergarten,  manual  training  depart- 
ment for  boys,  needle  and  fancy  work  department  for  girls, 
and  the  gymnastic  department,  afford  excellent  facilities 
for  physical  as  well  as  mental  training. 

The  academy  is  also  the  model  department  for  the 
National  German-American  teachers'  seminary.  This  normal 
school  was  opened  in  1878.  The  means  for  its  support  were 
largely  obtained  by  subscription  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

317 


318     NATIONAL   GERMAN- AMERICAN   TEACHERS'   SEMINARY. 

Its  purpose  is  to  fit  young  ladies  and  gentlemen  for  teaching 
in  both  English  and  German.  The  training  they  receive  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  normal  schools  (seminaries)  of  Germany, 
and  is  according  to  the  most  approved  methods  of  modern 
pedagogy  adapted  to  American  institutions.  The  seminary 
was  not  forgotten  by  the  noble  donors  to  the  academy. 
The  beautiful  home  of  the  latter  is  also  that  of  the  seminary, 
and  the  pupils  enjoy  the  same  privileges  and  facilities  as  the 


GERMAN-ENGLISH   ACADEMY. 


pupils  of  the  academy.  The  instruction  in  the  seminary  is 
free.  A  limited  number  of  scholarships  are  issued  to  pupils 
whose  means  do  not  permit  them  to  prepare  for  their  chosen 
calling.  The  normal  school  for  teachers  of  gymnastics 
(Turnlehrer  seminar),  adjoining  the  academy  and  seminary, 
takes  the  seminary  students  through  a  course  of  training, 
thus  fitting  them  to  direct  not  only  mental  and  moral,  but 
physicial  development. 

The  high  standing  of  the  seminary  is  mainly  due  to  the 
untiring  efforts  of  the  Milwaukee  people,  of  whom  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen  deserve  special  mention ;  Messrs.  Wm. 
Frankfurth  (deceased),  Chr.  Preusser,  Henry  Mann,  Ferd. 
Kuehn,  H.  C.  Boppe,  Fred  Vogel,  Jr.,  Chas.  Pfister  and  A.  B. 
Abrams.     The   board  of  regents  is  composed  of  Professor 


NATIONAL   GERMAN-AMERICAN  TEACHERS'   SEMINARY,    319 

W.  H.  Rosenstengel,  Madison,  Wis.,  president;  Fred.  Kuehn, 
treasurer ;  and  C.  H.  Boppe. 

GYMNASTIC  NORMAL  SCHOOL  OF  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN   GERMAN 

UNION. 

The  North  American  Gymnastic  union  opened  a  normal 
school  for  training  teachers  of  gymnastics  on  January  4th, 
1875,  at  the  West  Side  Turners'"  hall.  In  1889  this  school 
was  removed  to  Indianapolis,  where  two  annual  courses  were 
held.  At  the  national  convention  of  the  North  American 
German  union,  held  in  New  York,  May  20,  1890,  it  was  de- 
cided to  locate  the  normal  department  permanently  at  Mil- 
waukee and  to  combine  it  with  the  National  German- Ameri- 
can teachers'  seminary.  A  first  class  gymnasium  was  built 
upon  the  same  lot  where  the  German-English  academy  was 
rearing  its  new  home,  and  the  first  union  course  was  opened 
September  7th,  1891.  George  Brosius  was  appointed  director 
of  the  seminary.  The  board  of  regents  is  composed  of  the 
following  members :  C.  H.  Boppe,  president ;  F.  B.  Hucht- 
ing,  yice-president ;  Christ  Paulus,  treasurer ;  William  Voigt, 
secretary ;  H.  Rassmusen,  visitor. 

Emil  Dapprich. 


STATE  INSTITUTIONS  FOR  SPECIAL  GLASSES. 


The  Wisconsin  School  for  the  Deaf. 


The  first  mention  in  Wisconsin  of  an  institution  for  the 
deaf  of  which  there  is  any  account  was  in  1843,  twenty-six 
years  after  the  founding  of  the  first  institution  in  America 
at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  five  years  before  the  territory 
of  Wisconsin  became  a  state,  in  the  following  letter  written 
to  the  Honorable  Moses  M.  Strong,  president  of  the  territorial 
council  at  Madison  : 

Milwaukee,  March  15th,  1843. 

' '  Dear  Sir  :  Believing  it  to  be  the  right  of  those  unfortu- 
nate persons  who  are  by  nature  excluded  from  our  common 
schools,  to  participate  equally  Avith  others  in  the  public  funds 
and  donations  of  land  for  the  support  of  schools,  I  hope  no 
apology  is  necessary  for  directing  to  you  the  enclosed  draft  of 
'resolutions  asking  an  appropriation  of  land  by  Congress  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  within  the  territory  of  Wisconsin,  institu- 
tions for  the  instruction  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  and  blind,  and 
an  asylum  for  the  insane,'  and  for  asking  you  to  bring  the  same 
to  the  attention  of  the  honorable  body  over  which  you  preside. 

Very  respectfully, 

I.  A.  Lapham.    i 
Hon.  M.  M.  Strong, 

President  of  the  Council." 

Action  was  at  once  taken  on  the  receipt  of  the  "resolu- 
tions" by  the  council,  and  Congress  was  petitioned  according- 
ly, but  there  is  no  mention  in  the  journals  of  Congress  of  that 
time  that  anything  was  done.  Thus  ended  the  first  recorded 
attempt  to  establish  a  school  for  the  deaf  in  the  territory. 

The  movement  which  led  to  the  founding  of  the  present 
school  began  in  the  following  way  :  There  was  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Chesebro,  who  emigrated  from  New  York 
state  to  Wisconsin  in  1839,  a  deaf  girl  named  Ariadna,  who 
had  been  a  pupil  in  the  New  York  institution  before  the  re- 
moval of  her  parents.  The  family  had  settled  on  the  Janes- 
ville  road,  in  Darien,  Walworth  county,  two  miles  west  of 
the  present  village  of  Delavan.  In  1848  or  '49,  Miss  Wealthy 
Hawes,  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  institution,  who  lived 
with  her  parents  at  Magnolia,  fourteen  miles  east  of  the 
present  city  of  Janesville,  Rock  county,  Wisconsin,  w^ent  to 


THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF. 


323 


visit  some  relatives  in  Racine,  Wisconsin.  She  learned  on 
the  way  that  Miss  Ariadna  Chesebro,  whom  she  had  known 
as  a  classmate  in  the  New  York  institution,  lived  on  the  road, 
and,  finding  the  house,  stopped  to  pay  her  a  visit.  In  1850 
she  received  a  request  by  letter  from  Miss  Belle,  a  sister  of 
Ariadna,  to  come  and  teach  Ariadna  at  her  home,  along  with 
a  deaf  boy  named  J.  A.  Dudley,  who  lived  on  a  farm  a  mile 
or  two  southeast  of  the  Chesebro  farm.  She  complied  with 
the  request,  and  taught  four  months. 

Mr.  J.  A.  Mills,  also  a  former  pupil  of  the  New  York 
institution,  was  then  requested  to  take  up  the  work  of  Miss 


OLD    BUILDING — DESTROYED    BY    FIRE   SEin'.    16,    1879. 

Hawes,  which  he  did  in  the  fall  of  1851.  The  school  now 
numbered  six  pupils,  and  so  far  had  been  a  private  affair. 
Four  months  later  it  had  to  be  discontinued  for  lack  of  funds, 
but  the  idea  of  a  school  was  not  abandoned.  Mr.  Chesebro 
conceived  the  plan  of  having  the  following  petition  circu- 
lated in  Darien  and  the  adjacent  towns,  which  was  signed  by 
one  hundred  citizens  of  Walworth  county : 

"  To  the  honorable  the  legislature  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin  : 
"  The  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  re- 
spectfully petition  your  honorable  body  to  pass  a  law  making 
more  ample  and  just  provision  for  the  education  of  that  unfor- 
tunate portion  of  our  youth  known  as  'mutes,'  or  those  who  are 
deaf  and  dumb  either,  as  your  petitioners  would  suggest.  First, 
hy  providing  for,  establishing  and  maintaining  at  least  one 
school  in  the  state  where  all  such  children  between  the  ages  of 
four  and  twenty  years  may  be  taught  free  of  charge  ;  or  second, 
by  appropriating  out  of  the  school  fund  such  sum  to  each  child 
as  will  enable  the  parents  or  guardians  of  such  children  to  edu- 
cate them  in  some  proper  school  taught  for  that  purpose." 


324  THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF. 

This  petition  was  placed  in  tlie  hands  of  Hon.  J.  R. 
Baker,  then  assemblyman  from  this  district,  and  through  his 
energetic  and  able  presentation  of  the  matter  before  the  legis- 
lature a  bill  was  passed  and  approved  by  Governor  Leonard 
J.  Farwell,  April  19,  1852,  incorporating  the  "Wisconsin  in- 
stitute for  the  education  of  the  deaf  and  dumb,"  to  be  located 
"at  or  near  the  village  of  Delavan"  in  Walworth  county. 
The  act  of  incorporation  included,  among  other  things,  a 
board  of  trustees  consisting  of  Ebenezer  Chesebro,  William  C. 
Allen,  Franklin  K.  Phoenix,  Henderson  Hunt,  P.  W.  Lake, 
Wyman  Spooner,  Jesse  C.  Mills,  James  A.  Maxwell  and 
George  Williams,  for  the  general  management  of  the  school, 
with  the  power  to  employ  a  principal,  and  an  appropriation 
of  $1,000  a  year  for  three  years  for  building  purposes  ;  and 
$500  for  the  support  of  the  school  for  the  ensuing  year. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  board  took  place  in  the  follow- 
ing June,  and  J.  R.  Brad  way  was  appointed  principal  and  J. 
A.  Mills,  teacher.  A  site  was  selected  and  steps  taken  to- 
wards the  erection  of  suitable  buildings.  Principal  Broad- 
way afterwards  resigned,  and  Rev.  Lucius  Foote  was  chosen 
to  succeed  him. 

The  present  site,  on  a  hill  just  west  of  the  village  of 
Delavan,  comprises  thirty-seven  acres,  eleven  of  which  were 
originally  donated  by  F.  K.  Phoenix,  the  remainder  having 
been  subsequently  acquired  by  purchase.  Its  location  is  as 
healthy  as  it  is  beautiful.  The  grounds  are  covered  with 
oak,  evergreens  and  maple,  and  in  summer  present  a  lovely 
aspect.  It  has  very  appropriately  been  given  the  name  of 
Phoenix  Green. 

While  the  first  building  was  being  erected,  the  pupils, 
numbering  eight,  were  boarded  in  private  families  in  the 
village,  until,  increasing  to  fourteen,  a  house  was  rented  for 
their  special  use  ;  while  the  upper  story  of  a  red  brick  .shoe- 
shop,  which  is  still  standing  with  its  original  sign  of  "Boots 
and  shoes,"  was  used  as  a  school-room.  The  new  building 
was  completed  in  January,  1854,  and  the  pupils  were  moved 
into  it  from  their  quarters  in  the  village.  It  was  a  red  brick 
structure  33x44,  two  stories  besides  basement  and  attic;  and 
was  only  a  part  of  a  complete  set  of  buildings,  consisting  of 
transverse  and  lateral  wings  on  either  side  of  a  main  edifice, 
which  were  not  finished  until  1867. 

At  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  new  building,  L.  H. 
Jenkins  was  principal.  He  filled  a  long  felt  want,  as  he  was 
a  man  of  experience  in  the  education  of  the  deaf.  By  his 
knowledge  and  devotion  to  the  cause  a  broader  public  inter- 
est was  awakened  in  the  institute  and  its  needs. 


THE   WISCONSIN  SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF.  325 

In  1856,  Mr.  Jenkins  was  succeeded  by  J.  S.  Officer, 
under  whose  able  management  the  institute  made  marked 
progress.  Though  previously  advocated  by  Mr.  Jenkins, 
industrial  education  was  not  begun  until  Mr.  Officer's  terra, 
in'  the  form  of  cabinet-making.  This  was  a  wise  step,  for  too 
much  can  hardly  be  said  in  favor  of  manual  training, 
especially  in  the  case  of  the  deaf. 

During  the  session  of  1857-8  a  law  passed  the  legislature 
requiring  pupils  who  were  sent  to  the  deaf  and  dumber  blind 
institutions,  to  pay  seventy-five  dollars  per  annum,  unless 
"parents  could  make  oath  before  an  officer  that  they  were 
unable  to  pay  that  amount."  A  similar  law  was  passed  in 
1867 ;  but  these  laws  operated  so  disastrously  on  the  pros- 
perity of  those  institutes  that  they  were  both  repealed  soon 
after  their  passage. 

The  period  of  the  civil  war  was  a  time  of  considerable 
pecuniary  embarrassment  to  the  institute,  and  teachers  worked 
on  reduced  salaries. 

Mr.  Officer  died  in  office  in  1864,  and  his  place  was 
filled  by  Dr.  H.  W.  Milligan,  whose  administration  was  sig- 
nalized by  the  introduction  of  steam  heating  and  gas  light- 
ing, and  the  opening  of  the  shoe-shop. 

The  next'  two  principals  to  take  charge  of  the  institute, 
between  the  years,  1869  and  1875,  were  E.  C.  Stone  and  George 
L.  Weed.  It  was  during  this  period  that  Hon.  Samuel 
Fallows,  state  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  acknowl- 
edged the  institute  as  one  of  the  educational  interests  of  the 
state. 

In  1875  William  H.  DeMotte  was  elected  principal.  The 
following  events  marked  his  term  of  office:  The  erection  of 
a  small  wooden  building  for  a  gymnasium ;  the  opening  of 
a  basket  shop  for  two  years  in  a  part  of  the  cabinet  shop ; 
the  introduction  of  printing  and  the  starting  of  a  paper,  the 
"Deaf-Mute  Press,"  in  1878 ;  the  giving  of  elementary  instruc- 
tion in  drawing  for  a  few  months ;  the  erection  and  fitting 
up  of  a  building  for  a  kitchen  and  laundry  ;  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  old  institute  by  fire  September  16,  1879.  No 
clue  as  to  the  origin  of  the  fire  has  ever  yet  been  obtained. 
The  building  w^as  a  total  loss  to  the  state,  as  it  was  not  covered 
by  insurance.  In  spite  of  the  great  inconveniences  caused 
by  this  most  unexpected  calamity,  the  work  of  the  institute 
was  not  suspended.  The  shoe-shop  was  immediately  con- 
verted into  a  dormitory  for  the  boys,  and  the  lady  teachers 
and  girls  were  taken  in  by  private  families  on  the  hill  and 


326 


THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   POR   THE   DEAF. 


down  town.  In  the  meantime  the  school  work  was-  mostly 
carried  on  in  the  Methodist  church  in  the  village  until  the 
carpenter  shop  was  divided  up  into  school-rooms  and  a  small 
office  for  the  principal  and  steward. 

After  the  fire  the  public  press  began  seriously  to  discuss 
the  advisability  of  moving  the  institute  to  some  other  place, 
but  nothing  resulted  from  the  discussion.  Plans  for  new 
buildings  were  adopted,  and,  an  appropriation  of  $65,000 
having  been  secured,  their  erection  was  commenced  in  the 
spring  of  1880.  These  buildings,  which  are  a  modification 
of  the  congregate  plan,  will  accommodate  two  hundred  and 


NEW  BUILDINGS — ERECTED   IN   1880. 


fifty  pupils,  and  are  well  suited  to  more  completely  separate 
and  classify  pupils  of  different  sex,  age  and  state  of  advance- 
ment. 

The  present  superintendent,  J.  W.  Swiler,  entered  upon 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  July,  1880,  and,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  erection  and  fitting  up  of  the  new  buildings,  which 
took  place  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  the  same  year,  the 
following  improvements  have  been  made:  The  erection  of 
a  new  engine  house  and  smokestack,  with  the  removal  of 
the  old  one;  of  a  new  and  well-equipped  gymnasium  ;  the 
introduction  of  systematic  instruction  in  drawing  and  paint- 
ing ;  the  change  in  the  name  of  the  institute  to  "  The  Wis- 
consin School  lor  the  Deaf;  "  the  addition  of  a  bakery  to  the 
industrial    department ;    the    making  of    the   "  Deaf-Mute 


k 


THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF.  327 

Press,"  now  the  "Wisconsin  Times,"  a  regular  weekly  paper, 
and  the  use  of  electricity  in  lighting. 

From  its  establishment  in  1852,  the  school  had  been 
under  the  general  management  of  a  board  of  trustees,  but  in 
1881,  with  all  the  other  charitable,  penal  and  reformatory 
institutions  in  the  state,  it  was  placed  under  a  state  board  of 
supervision,  consisting  of  five  members  appointed  by  the 
governor,  having  their  headquarters  in  the  capitol  at  Madi- 
son. In  1891  this  board  was  reorganized  under  the  name  of 
the  state  board  of  control,  with  one  additional  member. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  here  to  refer  to  the  recent 
death  of  Hon.  Charles  Luling,  who  served  for  ten  years  on 
the  old  board  and  whose  eminent  ability  and  fitness  were  so 
well  recognized  that  he  was  reappointed  to  a  place  on  the 
new  board.  In  his  death,  which  called  forth  regret  from  all 
sections,  the  deaf  lost  a  sincere  friend  and  wise  counselor. 

The  system  of  instruction  generally  followed  in  the 
school  is  the  combined  system,  which  has  been  employed  in 
most  of  the  schools  in  this  country  for  the  last  half  century. 
The  two  most  prominent  features  of  this  system  are  the  man- 
ual and  the  oral  methods,  that  is,  the  teaching  by  signs,  the 
manual  alphabet  and  writing,  and  by  speech.  Each  pupil  is 
taught  by  that  method  which  is  the  best  suited  to  his  or  her 
case,  or,  in  other  words,  that  method  which,  in  the  broadest 
sense,  yields  the  most  satisfactory  results. 

Articulation,  or  speech-teaching,  was  introduced  into  the 
school  as  early  as  1868,  with  Miss  Emily  Eddy  as  teacher, 
whose  connection  with  the  school  dates  from  1857  ;  and  it  is 
at  present  a  subject  of  constantly  growing  importance. 
Though  much  articulation  work  had  been  done  previous  to 
1884,  since  that  time  three  regular  oral  classes  have  been  so 
taught,  and  this  fall  another  was  added  to  the  list. 

The  course  of  study,  which  covers  ten  years,  is  given 
below : 

COURSE  OF  STUDY,  ADOPTED  MAY,  1889. 
FIRST  YEAR. 

Language:  Nouns — Objects  in  class-room;  articles  of  dress: 
articles  of  food;  articles  of  furniture;  parts  of  the  body;  names  of 
most  common  animals  and  birds;  divisions  of  time,  as  morning, 
noon,  evening,  forenoon  and  afternoon  ;  the  articles,  a,  an, 
and,  the,  are  to  be  taught  with  these  words,  also  the  plural 
form  of  the  words.  Adjectives — Such  as,  good,  bad, 
young,  old,  sweet,  sour,  hard,  soft,  wise,  stupid,  weak,  strong. 


328  THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF. 

pretty,  homely,  light,  heavy,  quick,  slow,  etc.,  etc. ;  colors : 
black,  white,  yellow,  green,  red,  and  blue.  Numeral  ad- 
jectives to  twenty  inclusive.  Pronouns — I,  you,  he,  she,  it, 
in  all  cases  and  numbers.  Verbs — To  be,  in  present  and 
past  tenses,  and  verbs  that  express  simple  action.  Prepo- 
sitions— In,  into,  out,  of,  on,  over,  under,  by,  for,  of. 

Arithmetic:  Writing  numbers  to  twenty,  and  mental 
addition  and  subtraction.     How  many? 

Penmanship :  Careful  instruction  with  crayon,  followed 
by  exercises  with  pencil  and  pen.-    No  text  books. 

SECOND  YEAR. 

Language :  A  thorough  review  of  first  year  work. 
Nouns — Names  of  the  parts  of  common  quadrupeds,  birds 
and  fishes;  names  of  implements  in  common  use  about  the 
house,  barn,  farm,  etc.  "Miss  Sweet's  No.  1,"  second  series. 
Adjectives — Continued,  together  with :  this,  that,  these, 
those,  man)'',  a  few,  several,  some.  Pronouns — Simple  ques- 
tions with,  who,  what,  where,  can,  have  and  do.  Verbs — 
The  infinitive  mood  with  to,  simple  and  compound  actions, 
may  and  must.  Adverbs — Not,  often,  never,  sometimes, 
now,  soon,  very,  much,  etc.  Prepositions  —  From,  at, 
through,  of,  before,  behind,  around,  after.  Conjunctions — 
But,  and,  or.  Simple  questions :  whose,  which,  when,  will, 
and  may. 

Arithmetic:  Addition  and  subtraction  in  practical 
problems. 

Penmanship:    Copy-book.     Drawing :  Board  and  paper. 

THIRD   YEAR. 

Language  :  Nouns — The  different  classes  of  artisans  and 
the  articles  made  by  each ;  the  time  of  day ;  the  seasons. 
"Miss  Sweet's  No.  2."  Adjectives — Simple  comparison ;  also, 
each,  other,  another,  one,  every.  Pronouns — Myself,  himself, 
herself,  and  their  plurals.  Verbs — Present,  past  and  future 
tenses;  the  infinitive  and  imperative  moods;  thorough  drill 
on:  will,  would, could, and  can.  Adverbs — Continued.  Pre- 
positions— Without, among, along,  near, above,  below,  within. 
Conjunction — Because.  Simple  narrative  and  elliptical  ex- 
ercises.    Action  and  picture  writing. 

Arithmetic :  Multiplication.  Mental  exercises.  Prob- 
lems involving  the  three  rules.     Dollars  and  cents. 

Reading :     "Harper's  First." 

Penmanship:  Copy-book.     Drawing:  Continued. 


THE   AVISCONSIN   SCHOOL  FOR   THE   DEAF.  329 

FOURTH  YEAR. 

Language :  Nouns — Continued  :  somebody,  anybody, 
nobody.  Adjectives  —  Comparisons  continued.  Verbs — 
Active  and  passive  voice :  exercises  in  the  indicative,  infin- 
itive and  imperative  moods  ;  liave  and  had  ;  may  and  might; 
shall  and  should.  "Sweet's  No.  3."  Adverbs — Time,  place 
and  manner.  Pronouns — Relative.  Conjunctions — If,  either, 
or,  neither,  nor,  when,  while,  since.  Prepositions — Com- 
pleted. Elliptical  exercises.  Descriptions  of  actions,  pictures, 
persons,  animals  and  things.  Historical  sketches.  Journals. 
Stories.     Letter  writing. 

Arithmetic  :  Four  fundamental  processes.  Mental  and 
practical  problems.     Currency,  continued. 

Geography :  Local  division  of  land  and  water  in  the 
neighborhood. 

Reading :  "Harper's  Second." 

Penmanship.     Drawing. 

FIFTH  year. 

Language :  Nouns — Adiectives,  pronouns,  ^adverbs,  pre- 
positions, conjunctions,  continued.  "How  to  Talk."  Special 
drill  in  active  and  passive  voice:  participles.  Action  and 
picture  writing.  Historical  sketches.  Natural  history  stories. 
Journal.     Stories. 

Arithmetic:  Practical  problems.     Currency.     "Felter." 

Geograph  v:  Local  geography  carried  to  the  state  finished. 

Reading:  ""Sweet's  No.  4." 

Penmanship.     Drawing. 

SIXTH  year. 

Language :  Sentence  writing  ;  participial  constructions, 
continued.  Natural  history.  Narrative  and  descriptive 
composition.     Journal.     Stories.     "How  to  Talk." 

Arithmetic:  Common  fractions  begun,  with  practical 
problems.     "Felter." 

History :  History  of  United  States.  Manuscript  lessons 
by  teacher. 

Geographv  :  Swinton's  Primary,  completed. 

Reading :'  "Harper's  Third." 

Penmanship.     Drawing. 

SEVENTH  year. 

Language :  Sentence  building.  Analysis,  using  dia- 
grams. Participial  and  adverbial  phrases.  English  com- 
position.    "How  to  Write." 


330  THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF. 

Arithmetic:  Denominate  numbers  completed.  Decimal 
fractions,  begun.  Practical  problems.  Accounts.  "Felter's 
Advanced." 

History:  History  of  United  States.     Manuscript. 

Geography :  "Swinton's  Intermediate." 

Reading:  "Little Men  and  Women." 

Penmanship.     Drawing. 

EIGHTH  YEAR. 

Language:  Composition,  "Swinton,"  or  "Barnes'  Lan- 
guage."    Thorough  drill  on  connectives. 

Arithmetic:  Interest,  discount,  forms  of  notes,  receipts, 
bills,  etc.  Loss  and  gain.  "Felter."  General  history.  Manu- 
script, from  "Thalheimer."     Physiology  and  hygiene. 

Reading:  "Harper's  Fourth." 

Penmanship.    Drawing. 

NINTH  YEAR. 

Language:  Composition.     "Patterson's  Grammar." 
Arithmetic:  Completed.     Square    root   and  cube   root. 
"Felter."     United     States    history.     "Eggleston."     Natural 
philosophy.      Physical     geography.     "Monteith."      English 
literature. 
Drawing. 

TENTH  YEAR. 

English  literature.  Civil  government.  "Townsend." 
Manners  and  morals.  "Govv."  Reviews — United  States  his- 
tory, "Eggleston ;"  arithmetic,  "Felter ;"  geography,  "Swin- 
ton." 

Since  the  origin  of  the  schools  920  pupils  have  shared 
its  benefits,  and  in  every  section  of  the  state  they  may  be 
found  as  intelligent,  law-abiding  and  prosperous  citizens, 
pursuing  almost  every  occupation.  Out  of  the  above  num- 
ber 20  have  entered  the  National  college  for  the  deaf  at 
Washington,  D.  C.  Four  of  these  are  now  teachers,  and  one 
is  the  founder  and  present  superintendent  of  the  deaf  school 
at  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

What  better  than  the  above  could  attest  the  usefulness 
of  the  school,  or  open  the  public  mind  to  the  fact  that  this 
school,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  A.  L.  Chapin,  the  late  scholarly 
president  of  Beloit  college  and  for  many  years  an  efficient 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  school,  "  to  the  fact 
that  this  school  should  be  regarded  not  as  a  charity,  an  asy- 
lum, a  house  of  refuge,  but  rather  as  an  important  branch  of 


THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF.  331 

that  system  of  public  education,  through  which  the  state 
seeks  to  make  of  its  entire  people  intelligent,  industrious, 
virtuous  and  patriotic  citizens  ?" 

BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES  AND  RESIDENT  OFFICERS  OF  THE  WISCONSIN 
SCHOOL  FOR  THE  DEAF. 

The  Wisconsin  institution  for  the  education  of  the  deaf 
and  dumb  was  first  regularly  organized  in  1852  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  board  of  trustees  and  the  opening  of  the 
school  by  J.  R.  Bradway,  the  first  principal. 

The  first  annual  report  of  the  school  was  made  to  Gov- 
ernor L.  J.  Farwell,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1852,  by  the  follow- 
ing board  of  trustees:  E.  Chesebro,  W.  C.  Allen,  C.  G.  Will- 
iams, J.  A.  Maxwell,  J.  C.  Mills,  P.  W.  Lake,  S.  Thomas, 
President  H.  Hunt,  Secretary  F.  K.  Phoenix. 

The  institution  remained  under  the  control  of  the  above 
mentioned,  or  a  similar  local,  board  of  trustees  from  1852 
till  June  6th,  1881,  when,  by  act  of  the  general  assembly,  all 
the  state  institutions  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  state  board 
of  supervision.  This  board,  appointed  by  Governor  Will- 
iam Smith,  was  composed  of  the  following  gentlemen : 
Charles  Luling,  Manitowoc;  James  Bintliff,  Darlington; 
Charles  D.  Parker,  River  Falls ;  George  W.  Burchard,  Fort 
Atkinson  ;  Lewis  A.  Proctor,  Milwaukee.  The  board  re- 
mained in  office  for  ten  years;  during  its  administration  of 
affairs  the  public  institutions  of  the  state  enjoyed  a  period  of 
unprecedented  growth  and  development.  The  state  board 
of  control  was  invested  with  authority  July  1st,  1891,  and 
since  that  time,  in  addition  to  the  state  institutions,  has 
had  the  entire  control  of  all  the  county  jails  and  almshouses. 

The  following  gentlemen  constitute  the  state  board  of 
control : 

Clarence  Snyder,  Ashland,  president ;  Charles  D.  Parker, 
River  Falls ;  J.  E.  Jones,  Portage  ;  J.  L.  Cleary,  Kenosha. 

Of  the  officers  and  teachers  now  employed  in  the  Wis- 
consin school  for  the  deaf,  the  superintendent,  J.  W.  Swiler, 
took  charge  in  1880;  Mrs.  M.  H.  Schilling,  the  matron,  in 
1891;  Charles  M.  Tallman,  the  clerk,  in  1892;  Joseph  Wa- 
chuta,  boy's  supervisor,  in  1891 ;  Miss  Emily  Eddy  became  a 
member  of  the  teaching  force  in  1857;  Mrs.  M.  H.  Fiske 
in  1879 ;  Miss  A.  I.  Hobart  in  1884 ;  Miss  E.  M.  Steinke  in 
1886 :  Miss  I.  C.  Pearce  in  1888;  Miss  Agnes  Steinke  in  1891 
Mrs.  Eleanor  G.  McCoy  in  1874;  Miss  Jene  Bowman  in  1 892; 
Warren  Robinson  in  1884;  J.  J.  Murphy  in  1884;  E.  E.  Clip- 


332  THE   WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   THE   DEAF. 

pinger  in  1883;  W.  F.  Gray  in  1887;  J.  S.  Long  in  1889; 
Thomas  Hagerty  in  1891. 

Warren  Robinson,  J.  J.  Murphy  and  Thomas  Hagerty 
are  graduates  of  this  school,  and  J.  S.  Long  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Iowa  state  school  for  the  deaf.  In  the  industrial  depart- 
ment John  Beamsley  has  been  at  the  head  of  the  shoe-shop 
since  1882;  W.  T.  Passage,  foreman  of  the  printing  office 
since  1891 ;  and  Hollis  Stone  took  cljarge  of  the  carpenter 
shop  in  1892. 

Warren  Robinson. 


Wisconsin  School  for  Blind,  at  Janesville. 


On  the  27th  day  of  August,  1849,  a  public  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  the  village  of  Janesville  was  held  at  the  court  house 
for  the  purpose  of  adopting  some  measures  relating  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  school  for  the  education  of  the  blind.  The 
meeting  was  presided  over  by  A.  Hyatt  Smith,  the  Rev. 
Hiram  Foote  acting  as  secretary.  Mr.  J.  T.  Axtel,  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Ohio  Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Blind, 
explained  the  methods  of  instructing  the  blind  and  proposed 
to  remain  and  assist  in  establishing  the  school,  provided  the 
citizens  would  contribute  the  necessary  funds.  About  thirty 
individuals  and  firms  pledged  the  amount  of  $430  "for  the 
purpose  of  founding  a  school  in  the  village  of  Janesville  for 
the  instruction  of  the  blind  persons  resident  in  Wisconsin, 
and  the  purchase  of  the  necessary  apparatus  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  six  such  persons." 

With  the  funds  raised  by  this  subscription  a  few  pupils 
were  gathered,  and  school  opened  in  November,  in  a  house 
owned  by  Captain  Ira  Miltimore.  Mr.  Joseph  T.  Axtel  was 
elected  principal  of -the  school.  In  the  following  February, 
tlie  legislature  incorporated  "The  Wisconsin  Institution  for 
the  Education  of  the  Blind."  The  first  section  of  the  act 
named  A.  Hyatt  Smith,  Hiram  Foote,  Ira  Miltimore,  Levi 
Alden,  JairusC.  Fairchild  and  William  A.  Barstow  as  trustees, 
and  gave  them  corporate  powers.  The  second  and  third  sec- 
tions are  as  follows : 

"Sec.  2.  The  object  and  duty  of  this  corporation  shall 
be  to  continue  and  maintain  the  school  for  the  education  of  the 
blind  established  in  Janesville,  and  to  qualify,  as  far  as  may 
be,  that  unfortunate  class  of  persons  for  the  enjoyment  of  the 
blessings  of  a  free  government,  obtaining  the  means  of  subsist- 
ence, and  the  discharge  of  those  duties,  social  and  political,  de- 
volving upon  American  citizens." 

"Sec.  3.  The  school  shall  be  continued  in  or  near  Janes- 
ville, and  the  corporation  shall,  as  early  as  practicable,  purchase 
a  suitable  lot  of  ground,  containing  not  less  than  ten  acres  nor 
more  than  twenty  acres,  and  proceed  to  erect  thereon  suitable 
buildings,  and  make  such  improvements  as  are  necessary  for 
the  school." 

888 


334  WISCONSIN  SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND. 

BUILDINGS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS. 

In  1850  Mrs.  Hunter  was  appointed  matron,  and  the 
school  was  transferred  to  lier  house,  on  Jackson  street.  The 
school  was  continued  here  until  June  1st,  1852.  In  the 
meantime,  Captain  Ira  Miltimore  had  generously  donated 
ten  acres  of  ground  lying  on  the  south  bank  of  Rock  river, 
within  the  limits  of  the  present  city  of  Janesville,  and  about 
one  and  one-half  miles  south  of  the  post-office,  and  a  building 
costing  $3,000  had  been  erected  here  for  the  school.  This 
soon  proved  insufficient,  and  a  larger  building  was  erected  in 
1860.  In  April,  1874,  this  building  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
After  the  fire,  the  city  of  Janesville  granted  the  institution 
the  use  of  the  building  standing  where  the  Central  school  is 
now  located,  and  the  trustees  rented  the  Williams  house  op- 
posite, where  the  school  was  continued  the  remainder  of  the 
year.  A  large  frame  building  was  erected  on  the  school 
grounds,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  shop — a  brick  structure 
which  was  not  destroyed  at  the  time  of  the  fire — afforded  ac- 
commodations while  the  present  building  was  in  process  of 
construction.  The  west  wing  of  the  new  building  was  finished 
in  1876,  and  was  immediately  occupied. 

In  1877,  the  building  was  completed  as  it  stands,  with 
accommodations  for  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  pupils. 
The  building  is  a  fire-proof  brick  and  stone  structure,  one 
hundred  and  sixty  feet  in  length — the  main  portion  being 
one  hundred  and  one  feet  in  length — and  four  stories  high, 
the  wing  eighty-eight  feet  in  depth  and  three  stories  high. 
The  building,  when  the  east  wing  is  completed,  will  be  about 
one  hundred  and  ninety-five  feet  long.  The  weaving,  broom- 
making  and  cane-seating  department,  the  boys'  gymnasium 
and  the  laundry  are  located  in  the  shop  building,  a  brick 
structure  on  the  west  of  the  main  building.  The  buildings 
are  all  lighted  by  electricity  and  heated  by  steam.  All  the 
officers,  pupils  and  help — numbering  one  hundred  and 
twenty,  on  October  1st,  1892 — are  accommodated  in  the  main 
building. 

The  school  is  located  on  forty  acres  of  land,  lying  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Rock  river  within  the  city  limits  of  Janes- 
ville. The  grounds  are  high  and  are  covered  with  a  fine 
growth  of  hickory,  oak  and  elm,  making  a  beautiful  and 
healthful  location.  The  real  estate  and  improvements  are 
valued,  in  round  numbers,  at  $167,000.  The  entire  valuation 
of  school  property  is  $190,000.     There  has  been  paid  from 


WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND.  335 

the  state  treasury  up  to  October  1,  1892,  for  real  estate,  build- 
ings and  improvements,  repairs  and  current  expenses  of  the 
school,  $960,000. 

The  name  of  the  school  was  changed  in  1885  from  Wis- 
consin Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Blind  to  the  Wis- 
consin School  for  the  Blind. 

OFFICIAL  MANAGEMENT. 

The  official  management  of  the  institution  was  in- 
strusted  to  the  local  board  of  trustees  until  1881,  when  it  was 
placed  under  the  charge  of  the  state  board  of  supervision  of 
Wisconsin  charitable,  reformatory  and  penal  institutions. 
In  1891,  it  came  under  the  management  of  the  state  board 
of  control  of  charitable,  reformatory  and  penal  institutions. 

SUPERINTENDENTS. 

The  school  has  been  in  charge  of  the  following  principals 
or  superintendents:  1849,  J.  T.  Axtel  (blind);  1851,  Alex- 
ander McDonald  ;  1852,  Henry  Dutton  ;  April,  1853,  C.  B. 
Woodruff;  October,  1855,  P.  Lane  (blind);  1856,  W.  H. 
Churchman  (Wind);  1861,  Thomas  H.  Little;  1875,  Mrs. 
Sarah  C.  Little;  September  1,  to  December  1,  1891,  Warren 
D.  Parker ;  December  1,  1 891,  Lynn  S.  Pease. 

The  matrons  have  been  successively:  1851,  Mrs.  H.  Hunter; 
1852,  Mrs.  Jane  Miltimore;  1853,  Mrs.  C.  B.  Woodruff;  1855, 
MissFoote;  1857,  Miss  E.  M.  Curtis;  1859,  Mrs.  M.  Wright; 
1862,  Mrs.  M.  H.  Whiting;  1868,  Miss  I.  H.  Phelps;  1869, 
Miss  Eliza  Mitchell ;  1871,  Mrs.  M.  H.  Whiting  ;  1879,  Miss 
Lizzie  J.Curtis.     Governess:     1868-70,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Little. 

TEACHERS. 

The  following  teachers  have  been  engaged  in  the  school 
in  the  departments  as  indicated. — *  indicates  connection 
with  school  Nov.  1,  1892;  (B)  indicates  blind  or  partially 
blind  teachers: 

Literary — 1851,  Miss  Maria  Hoyt;  1853-4,  Miss  Mary 
A.  Weed;  1854-55,  Miss  Sarah  Ellsworth;  1855-68,  Miss 
M.  E.  Hand;  1855-68  (part).  Miss  Anna  Churchman; 
1858-61,  Miss  N.  S.  Larned  ;  1858-59,  Mrs.  E.  G.  Rice ;  1859- 
62,  Miss  S.  J.  Larned ;  1861,  '62,  '63,  '74,  '75,  Mrs.  S.  C.  Lit- 
tle; (1861,  Miss  Sarah  C.  Cowles) ;  1862-68,  Miss  S.  A.  Scho- 
field;  1863-65,  Miss  Frances  A.  Lord;  1863-73,  Miss  H. 
Daggett;  1865-80  and  1883-92,  Miss  S.  A.  Watson*;  1868- 
73,  Miss  C.  L.  Baldwin  ;  1873-74,  Wm.  J.  Showers;  1883-74 ; 
Miss  A.  M.  Smith  ;  1874-82  and  1885-86,  Miss  A.  I.  Hobart ; 


336  WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND. 

1875-76,  Miss  Eva  M.  Putney;  1876-82,  Miss  Helen  F. 
Blinn;  1880-81,  Miss  Grace  Draper;  1882,  Miss  Slinger- 
land ;  1881-92,  Miss  E.  M.  Williams  ;  1882-85,  Miss  Elsie 
M.  Steinke;  1886-87,  Miss  Grace  Slye;  1887-90,  Fred.  B. 
Maxwell;  1890-91,  Samuel  M.  Smith;  1891-92,  Miss  Lizzie 
A.  Binebam ;  *     1892,  Miss  Frances  H.  Benson.* 

Music— 1852-55,  Miss  L.  Walls  (B);  1855,  Miss  Mar- 
garet Belcher;  1857-68,  F.  A.  Campbell  (B);  1858-62,  J.  S. 
Allen  (B) ;  1863-68,  Jesse  H.  Temple  (B) ;  1868-70,  J.  W. 
Biscboff(B);  1870-75,  Maurice  D.  Jones  (B) ;  3  870-72,  Miss 
Flora  Winslow  (B) ;  1872-75,  Miss  Frances  Colvin  ;  1875-79, 
John  S.  Van  Cleve  (B) ;  1875-79,  Miss  L.  M.  Blinn  ;  1879- 
81,  Edgar  D.  Sweet;  1879-92,  Mrs.  J.  H.Jones;*  1881-84, 
N.  C.  Underbill;  1884-86,  Miss  Jennie  Cummings  (B) ; 
1885  (part),  Alfred  Churchill;  (part)  H.  H.  Hunt;  1886-87, 
MissC.  W.  Havnes;  1887-88,  Miss  Jeanette  Baldwin  ;  1888- 
89,  Miss  Otelia^G.  Rustad  ;  1889-92,  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Van 
Aiken  ;  1889-92,  Miss  Laura  Engleson  ;  1892,  Miss  Jeanette 
Beck  with.* 

Piano  Tuning— 1892,  W.  H.  Gaebler. 

Kindergarten — 1884  (part).  Miss  Frances  Norton. 
1884-92,  Miss  Clara  Y.  Morse.* 

Housekeeping — Miss  Lizzie  J.  Curtis  (matron) ;  1892, 
Miss  C.  Adele  Williams. 

WeavixXG— 1879-92,  Mrs.  Ellen  Hanson.* 

Girls'  Handicraft — Before  1879,  taught  by  teacher  in 
another  department ;  1879-80,  Miss  M.  L.  McKibben  ;  1880- 
92,  Miss  A.  B.  McKibben  ,  1892,  Miss  Anna  Molander.* 

Brooms,  Cane-Seating  and  Netting — 1854,  Andrew 
Keikie ;  1858-62,  J.  W.  Deitz ;  1862-71,  J.  Horton  ;  1871- 
75,  James  Stephen;  1875,  Ambrose  Shotwell(B);  1876-79, 
William  B.  Harvey  (B) ;  1877,  Julia  Gorham  (caning) ;  1882, 
Minnie  Julsen  (caning);  1883-92,  Joseph  0.  Preston  (B). 

enrollment. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  pupils  reported 
for  each  year  of  the  existence  of  the  school : 

Number  of  pupils  year  ending  October  1,  1850,  6;  Jan- 
uarv  11,  1851,  8  ;  December  18, 1851,  9 ;  December  30, 1852, 
9;  December  31,  1853,  13;  December  31,  1854,  16;  Decem- 
ber 31,  1855,  14 ;  December  31,  1856,  19;  October  1,  1857, 
20;  October  1,  1858,  25;  October  6,  1859,  27:  October  1, 
1860,34;  October  3,1861,  32;  October  1,  1862,  50;  Octo- 
ber 1,  1863,  54 ;  October  1,  1864,  59;  October  1,  1865,  58; 


338  WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND. 

October  1, 1866,  54 ;  October  1,  1867,  54;  October  8,  1868, 
60;  October  12,  1869,  69  ;  October  12,  1870,64;  October  1, 
1871,  68;  October  1, 1872,  76;  October  1,  1873,  77;  October 
1,  1874,  75;  October  1,  1875,  82;  October  1,  1876,  86;  Octo- 
ber 1,  1877,  91 ;  October  1,  1878,  91;  October  1,  1879,90; 
October  1,  1880,  89;  October!,  1881,  84;  October  1,  1882, 
82;  October  1,  1883,  78;  October  1,  1884,  78;  October  1, 
1885,84:  October  1,  1886,  91;  October  1,  1887,  93;  Octo- 
ber 1,  1888,  101 ;  October  1, 1889, 104;  October  1, 1890,  107  ; 
October  1,  1891,  109 ;  October  1,  1892,  117. 

EDUCATIONAL    DEVELOPMENT. 

The  growth  of  the  school,  in  its  several  departments  of 
instruction,  is  indicated  in  the  annual  reports  of  the  superin- 
tendents as  follows : 

No  report  of  studies  is  given  until  August  1,  1851,  in 
the  second  report  of  the  institution,  where  it  is  said  :  "The 
course  of  instruction  is  similar  to  that  which  has  proved  suc- 
cessful in  the  older  institutions  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States.  The  studies  pursued  are  as  follows :  Reading,  writ- 
ing, arithmetic,  geography,  English  history,  natural  philoso- 
phy and  music."  The  following  year  it  is  reported  :  "The 
studies  pursued  are  the  same  as  during  the  last  year,  except 
natural  philosophy."  The  programme  of  the  school  at  that 
time  is  interesting.  "The  time  of  rising  is  six  o'clock ;  at 
seven  the  pupils  are  assembled,  and  a  portion  of  the  sacred 
Scriptures  is  read  and  a  prayer  offered ;  then  breakfast ;  and 
at  eight  the  school  commences.  Fifty  minutes  of  each  hour 
from  eight  to  twelve  are  devoted  to  recitation,  and  the  other 
ten  minutes  to  recess  and  change  of  classes.  We  have  din- 
ner at  twelve,  and  devote  an  hour,  from  one  until  two,  again 
in  the  school-room.  The  time  from  two  until  five  is  spent 
out  of  doors  in  exercise  and  amusements.  In  the  evening, 
one  hour  is  devoted  to  reading,  and  an  hour  to  conversation 
and  singing.  Thus  passes  the  day."  The  report  advises 
teaching  some  trade  as  a  means  of  profitably  employing  a 
part  of  the  leisure  time.  At  this  time,  the  institution  had 
thirteen  volumes  in  raised  letters,  but  not  any  maps.  De- 
cember 31,  1852,  it  is  reported  that  "music  as  a  regular  study 
was  introduced  June  last."  This  year,  the  girls  were  taught 
sewing,  and  plain  and  fancy  knitting,  by  the  teacher  of  music. 
In  1853,  the  making  of  brooms  was  introduced.  Some  of 
the  products  were  exhibited  at  the  fair  in  Janesville,  and  four 
premiums  were  taken.     As  an  inducement  to  interest  in  the 


WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND.  339 

work-shop,  a  regular  number  of  brooms  was  given  to  each 
boy  to  be  made  each  week  ;  if  he  made  over  that  number,  he 
received  so  much  per  broom.  There  was  a  similar  arrange- 
ment with  the  girls  as  regards  other  work.  The  girls  were 
taught  fancy  knitting  by  the  music  teacher ;  the  knitting 
class  meeting  Wednesday,  Thursday  and  Friday  evenings 
from  6  to  7:15.  In  1853,  the  daily  studies  consist  of  "read- 
ing, writing,  spelling,  geography,  composition,  grammar, 
elocution,  written  arithmetic,  mental  arithmetic,  philosophy, 
algebra  and  meteorology." 

December  5,  1854,  the  announcement  is  made  that  "  the 
pupils  will  begin  the  manufacture  of  bead  baskets  before  the 
first  of  January.  During  the  past  year  the  girls  have  been 
making  tidies,  chair  armlets,  cake  covers,  ottoman  covers  and 
sacks  for  children."  The  work-shop  is  completed  and  has 
been  "  an  invaluable  aid  during  the  past  year  in  enabling  the 
boys  to  learn  the  manner  of  manufacturing  brooms."  The 
teaching  force  has  been  increased  by  a  foreman  of  the  shop. 

A  new  superintendent  took  charge  October  2,  1855.  He 
reports:  "The  branches  taught  in  the  school-room  are 
reading,  history,  spelling,  deciphering,  English  grammar, 
arithmetic  and  natural  philosophy."  Most  of  the  pupils  are 
reported  as  receiving  instruction  in  music,  but  during  "  my 
connection  with  the  institution,  nothing  has  been  done  in 
the  mechanical  departments."  The  time  alloted  to  the  school 
is  five  and  a  half  hours  per  day. 

In  1856,  when  Mr.  Churchman  assumed  the  superin- 
tendency,  he  reports  that  in  the  work  department  "  nothing 
worthy  of  mention  has  been  accomplished  since  the  estab- 
ment  of  the  institute."  In  1857,  the  superintendent,  pro- 
fessor of  music  and  matron,  with  nine  of  the  pupils,  visited 
Milwaukee,  Racine  and  Kenosha  and  "gave  a  public  exhibi- 
tion and  concert  for  the  purpose  of  showing  in  a  practical 
way  the  scholastic  attainments  of  wliich  the  blind  are  capa- 
ble." The  literary  department  included  the  following  stud- 
ies: Orthography,  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  algebra, 
geography,  grammar,  geometry,  history,  moral  and  mental 
philosophy,  elements  of  physiology,  rhetoric,  natural  history, 
vocal  and  instrumental  music,  etc.  As  no  text  books  had 
been  printed,  the  instruction  was  entirely  oral.  "  Ordinary 
writing  is  performed  with  a  lead  pencil,  the  paper  being 
placed  upon  a  card  containing  parallel  grooves  w-hich  serve 
to  keep  the  lines  straight  and  the  letters  of  uniform  size." 
The  same  report  records  "  a  system  of  embossed  writing  or 


340  WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND. 

printing  which  is  executed  with  a  species  of  t^'pe,  the  let- 
ters being  formed  by  pin  points  arranged  in  the  ends  of 
wooden  blocks,"  so  that  it  could  puncture  the  paper  and  the 
writing  could  be  read  with  the  fingers.  Arithmetic  and 
algebra  were  taught  orally,  and  the  problems  solved  upon  a 
metal  frame  with  movable  figures  and  signs,  answering  as  a 
substitute  lor  the  slate  and  pencil. 

In  1858  the  female  pupils  were  drilled  in  some  of  the 
simple  kinds  of  house-work,  and  were  enabled  thereby  to 
perform  in  a  tidy  manner  all  the  labor  necessary  to  keep 
their  sleeping  apartments  in  order. 

In  1860  "a  marked  improvement  in  our  arrangements 
for  the  current  year"  is  reported.  "In  addition  to  the  employ- 
ment of  a  higher  grade  of  teachers,  we  have  considerably 
enlarged  our  stock  of  apparatus."  The  new  apparatus  con- 
sisted of  an  organ  harmonium,  a  seven-octave  piano,  a  com- 
plete set  of  apparatus  for  illustrating  the  principles  of  natural 
philosophy,  a  set  of  wooden  and  papier-mache  models  of 
animals,  an  embossed  globe,  a  small  telluric  globe;  a  large 
double  map  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Hemispheres,  five  feet 
in  diameter,  showing  the  land  in  very  bold  relief,  and  a  dis- 
sected map  of  the  United  States.  The  programme  called  for 
nine  hours'  work  per  day.  The  shop  work  was  entirely  sus- 
pended. 

When  Superintendent  Thomas  H.  Little  takes  charge,  in 
1862,he  announces  the  continuance  of  the  three  departments — 
hterary,  musical  and  industrial.  The  studies  are  object 
lessons,  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geography,  grammar, 
English  literature  and  rhetoric,  history,  algebra,  physiology 
and  chemistry.  In  the  musical  department,  the  violin  and 
melodeon  have  been  added  and  a  brass  band  organized.  Bead 
work  assumes  considerable  prominence  the  ensuing  year,  the 
smaller  boys  working  with  the  girls.  In  1867,  the  Braille 
point  writing  system  was  introduced  and  taught  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  other  systems  of  wTiting  described  above.  By 
puncturing  heavy  manilla  paper  with  a  blunt  stylus,  a  tang- 
ible writing  was  obtained  which  the  blind  could  read,  the 
alphabet  being  represented  by  the  various  arrangements  of 
one  to  six  points.  Light  gymnastics  were  introduced  this 
year. 

From  the  nineteenth  report,  in  1868,  it  appears  that  the 
books  used  in  reading  were  printed  in  three  different  alpha- 
bets, known  as  the  Boston,  the  Philadelphia  (or  Glasgow)  and 
the  combined.     In  this  year,  instruction  was  given  iii  Latin, 


WISCONSIN  SCHOOL    FOR   BLIND.  341 

trigonometry,  cliemistry  and  political  economy.  All  the 
pupils  are  placed  in  one  of  the  singing  classes  and,  when 
sufficient  knowledge  of  music  is.  obtained,  each  is  allowed  to 
commence  practice  upon  some  instrument.  This  generally 
occiirs  alter  a  few  months.  Instruction  is  given  on  piano, 
violin,  melodeon,  flute  and  guitar.  A  small  string  band  has 
received  regular  instruction  and  makes  good  progress. 

In  1870,  a  spelling  book  was  prepared  and  printed  in 
raised  letters  on  a  small  printing  press  owned  by  the  institu- 
tion. 

August  10,  1871,  the  convention  of  superintendents 
and  teachers  of  the  institutes  in  the  United  States 
resolved  "that  the  New  York  horizontal  alphabet  should 
be  taught  in  all  the  institutions  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  blind."  The  twenty-second  report,  of  date  Octo- 
ber, 1871,  records,  "Writing  by  Braille  system,  one  class." 
The  twenty-tliird  report  is  silent  in  regard  to  instruction  in 
writing,  but  the  list  of  bills  shows  one  of  date  October 
30,  1871,  "Wm.  B.  Waite,  apparatus  for  writing,  $21.50," 
so  that  the  institution  probably  conformed  to  the  resolu- 
tion. The  twenty-fourth  report,  dated  October  1,  1873,  re- 
cords classes  in  writing,  both  with  card  and  pencil  and  by  the 
New  York  system  ot  points.  The  twenty-fifth  report,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1874,  says,  "Writing  is  taught  both  by  the  New  York 
system  of  tangible  dots  and  by  the  use  of  card  and  pencil 
for  the  common  alphabet.  Considerable  progress  has  been 
made  in  learning  to  read  and  write  music  by  the  New  York 
system."  Although  the  contest  between  the  two  systems 
seems  elsewhere  to  have  raged  fiercely  enough,  it  would 
seem  that,  in  this  institution,  from  the  incidental  manner  in 
which  the  change  is  indicated,  the  demise  of  the  Braille  was 
peaceful  and  the  New  York  system  took  unquestioned  pos- 
session of  the  field. 

In  1877  cane-seating  was  introduced,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  one  loom  was  purchased  and  instruction  was  given 
in  rag  carpet  weaving.  In  1878  kindergarten  work  is  intro- 
duced for  one  hour  each  day.  In  1879  the  institution  re- 
ceived its  first  installment  of  books  from  the  Louisville 
printing  house  as  its  quota  from  the  congressional  subsidy, 
which  provides  for  furnishing  books  gratis  to  the  several  in- 
stitutions for  the  blind.  It  now  became  possible  "to  give 
pupils  of  one  class  (et3'mology)  the  discipline  of  learning  les- 
sons from  the  printed  page."  In  1881,  caning  is  continued 
to  "provide  occupation  and  manual  drill   for  those  boys  who 


342  WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND. 

are  not  yet  prepared  to  learn  carpet  weaving,  and  for  these 
purposes  is  indispensable."  "The  younger  boys  and  girls 
find  useful  training  for  muscles  and  tactual  sense  in  making 
fancy  articles  with  beads  and  fine  wire."  In  1883  the  literary 
work  is  thus  generalized :  "In  the  literary  department  we 
design  to  give  each  pupil  a  good  knowledge  of  the  common 
branches ;  and  to  those  who  are  qualified,  instruction  is  given 
in  the  more  practical  of  the  higher  English  branches." 
Three  chorus  classes  recite  daily.  A  carpet  woven  by  a 
totally  blind  young  woman  in  the  school  shop,  Barbara  Fon- 
taine, was  exhibited  at  the  state  fair  at  Fond  du  Lac  and  was 
awarded  tae  first  premium.  In  1884  a  kindergarten  depart- 
ment was  established.  In  1887  attention  is  called  to  the 
custom  of  granting  a  certificate  to  any  worthy  pupil  leaving 
the  school,  stating  what  he  or  she  had  accomplished. 
"  It  has  seemed  wise  to  change  this  plan  and  accordingly 
a  course  of  study,  with  some  electives,  has  been  prepared, 
which  is  believed  to  be  equivalent  to  an  ordinary  English 
high  school  course.  To  those  completing  this  course,  diplo- 
mas will  be  given."  In  the  industrial  department,  the  net- 
ting of  hammocks  and  fly-nets  was  introduced.  In  1889, 
"  we  have  returned  to  the  manufacture  of  brooms,  discon- 
tinued a  few  years  ago." 

In  1891  and  1892,  the  school  was  graded  on  the  basis 
used  in  the  graded  schools  of  the  state ;  the  grades  being 
kindergarten,  three  primary,  four  grammar  and  a  four  years' 
high  school  course.  Rhetorical  work,  consisting  of  declama- 
tions, essays  written  in  point  and  orations,  was  made  a  regu- 
lar feature  of  the  course;  written  arithmetic  was  dropped 
and  the  field  of  mental  arithmetic  was  enlarged.  In  1892 
the  departments  of  piano  tuning,  typewriting  and  house- 
keeping have  been  introduced.  The  boys  as  well  as  the  girls 
are  instructed  in  making  beds  and  taking  care  of  their  rooms. 
The  girls  have  regular  classes  for  instruction  in  physical  cul- 
ture by  a  trained  specialist. 

SYNOPSIS   OF   COURSE    OF   STUDY. 

The  work  of  the  school  is  comprised  in  the  following 
departments  or  courses  of  study: 

LITERARY   DEPARTMENT. 

The  prescribed  course  of  study,  beginning  with  kinder- 
garten training,  includes  the  usual  primary  and  grammar 
grades  and  a  four  years'  high  school  course.     The  school 


WISCONSIN  SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND.  343 

aims  to  give  all  capable  pupils  an  education  equal  to  that 
given  in  the  free  high  schools  of  the  state.  Pupils  who  wish 
to  prepare  themselves  for  teachers  are  given  practice  work  in 
teaching,  under  the  supervision  of  the  superintendent  or 
teachers. 

MUSICAL    DEPARTMENT. 

Instruction  is  given  on  piano,  organ  and  violin,  and  in 
vocal  music.  Two  chorus  classes  and  an  orchestra  rehearse 
daily.  Pupils  who  develop  talent  in  musical  directions  are 
given  the  opportunity  for  special  training  to  fit  them  for 
business  in  this  line.  Importance  is  given  to  this  depart- 
ment, as  the  field  of  music  offers  profitable  employment  for 
a  good  proportion  of  our  pupils.  Excellent  proficiency  is 
attained  by  the  pupils.  Whenever  the  orchestra  appears  in 
public,  it  is  warmly  received  and  its  efforts  are  considered 
worthy  of  high  praise. 

PIANO   TUNING   DEPARTMENT. 

Pupils  are  trained  in  this  department  to  become  thorough 
piano  tuners. 

WORK   DEPARTMENT. 

This  department  has  the  double  purpose  of  a  general 
manual  training  and  of  such  instruction  in  various  trades  as 
will  fit  pupils  to  become  self-supporting.  Instruction  is  given 
in  cane-seating,  hammock,  fly-net  and  fish-net  knitting  and 
broom-making.  The  girls  are  taught  plain  and  fancy  sew- 
ing, both  hand  and  machine ;  knitting,  crocheting,  fancy 
w^ork,  hammock-netting  and  cane-seating. 

DEPARTMENT   OP   TYPEWRITING. 

Instruction  is  given  on  the  Remington  typewriter. 

DEPARTMENT   OF   HOUSEKEEPING. 

Under  the  charge  of  skilled  and  experienced  teachers, 
the  girls  are  instructed  in  all  the  details  of  housekeeping, 
including  cooking  and  preparation  of  meals;  the  purpose 
being  to  train  the  girls  not  only  to  take  care  of  themselves, 
but  to  become  useful  members  of  their  homes  after  they  have 
finished  their  school  life. 

DEPARTMENT   OF   PHYSICAL   CULTURE. 

All  the  pupils  are  arranged  in  classes  in  physical  cul- 
ture, in  charge  of  a  trained  specialist,  who  endeavors  to  secure 


344  WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND. 

the  exercise  and  consequent  bodily  development  necessary 
to  good  health,  and  to  correct  the  unnatural  and  peculiar 
postures  and  habits  which  so  frequently  accompany  blindness. 

The  daily  programme  is  as  follows  :  6:30,  rising  bell ; 
6:30,  breakfast;  alter  breakfast,  the  pupils  attend  to  their 
room  work,  making  their  beds,  etc.  Classes  begin  at  7:45  and 
are  in  session,  excepting  a  recess  from  9:50  to  10:10,  until 
12:00.  From  12:00  to  1:30  the  time  is  occupied  with  dinner, 
exercise  and  study.  Classes  begin  again  at  1:30,  continuing 
until  4:45  ;  recessfrom  3:00  to  3:15.  From  4:45  until  5:30 
all  the  pupils  are  required  to  exercise — out  of  doors  when  the 
weather  permits.  Supper  at  5:30  ;  study  hours  begin  at  6:15 
and  run  until  8:45,  excepting  one  period  of  forty-five  minutes, 
when  all  the  pupils  are  assembled  in  two  divisions  in  charge 
of  two  qf  the  teachers,  who  read  them  a  synopsis  of  tlie  news 
of  the  day  and  selections  from  various  authors.  The  younger 
pupils  retire  at  8:00 ;  the  older  ones  at  9:00. 

Classes  are  not  in  session  on  Saturday.  On  Sunday,  the 
pupils  are  expected  on  pleasant  days  to  attend  their  respective 
churches  in  the  city.  Those  who  do  not  attend  are  assembled 
at  10:10  at  a  reading  of  a  non-sectarian  character.  In  the 
afternoon,  a  Sunday  school  is  provided  for  those  whose 
parents  wish  them  to  attend  such  instruction.  A  reading  ex- 
ercise is  arranged  at  the  same  hour  for  the  other  pupils.  In 
the  evening  there  is  another  reading  exercise.  The  care  of 
the  officers  and  teachers  in  this  regard  is  simply  and  wholly 
to  protect  the  pupils  in  the  faith  wherein  they  have  been 
taught  by  their  parents. 

The  school  begins  the  second  Wednesday  in  September 
and  continues  forty  weeks.  There  are  no  full  vacations. 
Between  Christmas  and  New  Year's,  the  pupils  are  given  only 
half-work  ;  having  free  afternoons  throughout  the  week.  A 
similar  vacation  occurs  in  the  spring  about  the  time  of  the 
usual  Easter  vacation  in  the  public  schools.  This  plan  is  an 
innovation  of  1891  to  break  up  the  strain  of  forty  weeks  con- 
tinuous work.  It  is  therefore  experimental  and  may  not  be- 
come a  permanent  arrangement.  All  the  pupils  return  to 
their  homes  for  the  summer  vacation  of  twelve  weeks. 

The  school  has  a  good  equipment  of  apparatus  for  in- 
struction. The  establishment  of  the  Louisville  printing 
house  for  the  blind  in  1879,  and  the  subsequent  subsidy 
granted  by  congress,  has  enabled  the  school  to  accumulate  a 
library  of  1,250  books  in  raised  print.  This  has  resulted  in 
material  advancement   in    the   school  work.     In  preparing 


WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND.  345 

lessons,  formerly  it  was  necessary  for  the  teacbers  to  read  the 
lessons  to  the  pupil,  and  the  period  assigned  to  the  class  was 
equally  divided  with  preparation  and  recitation.  At  present 
nearly  all  the  classes  prepare  the  lessons  outside  the  school 
room.  These  books  are  very  bulky;  for  instance,  Barnes' 
"History  of  the  United  States"  occupies  three  volumes,  each 
the  size  of  a  Webster's  unabridged  dictionary.  Swinton's 
"Outlines  of  History"  is  in  three  volumes  of  the  same  size. 
Specimens  of  this  print  will  be  sent  to  any  school  upon  re- 
quest from  librarian  or  teacher.  The  school  also  possesses  a 
library  of  1,650  volumes  in  ink. 

There  is  a  good  assortment  of  dissected  and  carved  maps, 
all  made  by  hand.  A  carved  map  of  the  hemispheres  is  five 
feet  across  and  stands  on  a  pedestal.  It  was  made  in  Phila- 
delphia, at  a  cost  of  $120.  These  maps  must  show  boundaries, 
mountain  ranges,  rivers,  cities,  etc;,  so  that  they  can  be 
readily  located  with  the  fingers.  One  of  our  thirteen-year- 
old  boys  was  lately  placed  before  a  dissected  map  of  the 
United  States  from  which  all  the  states  had  been  removed 
and  thrown  into  a  heap.  He  named  and  placed  all  the 
states  in  proper  place  in  less  than  four  minutes. 

The  musical  department  is  equipped  with  seven  pianos, 
two  organs,  violins,  bass  viol,  violoncello,  viola,  and  a  set  of 
brass  instruments. 

The  housekeeping  classes  have  a  kitchen  modeled  after 
the  usual  home  kitchen,  where  the  girls  learn  to  cook. 

The  shops  are  equipped  with  six  weaving  looms,  includ- 
ing the  Newcomb  flying-shuttle  loom,  and  the  necessary  im- 
plements for  making  brooms,  caning  chairs,  and  knitting 
hammocks  and  fly -nets. 

ADMISSION  OF  PUPILS. 

"All  the  blind  residents  of  this  state  w^ho  are  of  suitable 
age  and  capacity  to  receive  instruction,  shall  be  received  and 
taught  and  shall  enjoy  the  benefits  and  privileges  of  pupils  ; 
have  the  use  of  the  library  and  books  of  tuition,  and  be  fur- 
nished with  board,  lodging,  washing  and  fuel  free  of  charge." 
Section  573,  Revised  Statutes. 

The  school  for  the  blind  is  part  of  the  educational  sys- 
tem of  the  state.  Its  purpose  is  to  supplement  the  common 
school  system.  It  therefore  admits  not  only  those  who  are 
totally  or  nearly  totally  blind,  but  also  all  school  children 
of  school  age  w^ho  have  such  defective  sight  that  they  cannot 
pursue  their  studies  in  the  common  school.     Young  people 


346  WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR  BLIND. 

over  twenty  years  of  age,  upon  presenting  a  certificate  of  good 
character  from  at  least  three  free-holders,  may  be  granted  a 
permit  by  the  state  board  of  control  to  attend  the  school  for 
a  limited  period,  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  trades  and 
to  read  and  write  the  point  system. 

Any  person  wishing  to  make  application  for  the  admis- 
sion of  a  pupil  into  the  school  must  address  the  superin- 
tendent, giving  definite  and  truthful  answers  to  the  follow- 
ing questions,  viz. : 

First.  What  are  the  names  and  post-ofiice  address  of 
the  parents  or  guardians  of  the  person  for  whom  application 
is  made  ?  Second.  Are  such  parents  or  guardians  legal  resi- 
dents of  the  state  of  Wisconsin  ?  Third.  What  is  the  name 
and  age  of  the  person  for  whom  application  is  made  ?  Fourth. 
At  what  age  did  he  or  she  become  blind,  and  from  what 
cause?  Fifth.  Is  he  or  she  of  sound  mind,  and  susceptible 
of  intellectual  culture?  Sixth.  Is  he  or  she  free  from  all 
infectious  diseases?  Seventh.  What  are  liis  or  her  personal 
habits  and  moral  character?  Eighth.  For  what  purpose 
dots  he  or  she  enter  this  school? 

Blanks  for  application  will  be  furnished  by  the  superin- 
tendent. Upon  the  receipt  of  such  application  by  the  super- 
intendent the  applicant  will  be  notified  as  to  whether  or  not 
the  person  in  question  will  be  admitted,  and  no  one  must  be 
sent  to  the  school  until  such  notification  shall  have  been  re- 
ceived. No  person  of  imbecile  or  unsound  mind  or  of  con- 
firmed immoral  character  will  be  knowingly  received  into  the 
school ;  and  in  case  any  person  shall,  after  a  fair  trial,  prove 
incompetent  for  useful  instruction  or  disobedient  to  the 
wholesome  regulations  of  the  school,  such  pupil  will  be  there- 
upon discharged. 

As  will  be  noticed  by  the  law  establishing  the  school,  it 
is  neither  a  hospital  nor  an  asylum,  but  a  school.  The  school 
has  no  facilities  for  treating  the  eyes. 

A  FREE  SCHOOL  FOR  THE  BLIND. 

At  the  establishment  of  this  school,  it  was  free  to  all 
blind  children  resident  in  the  state.  In  1858,  a  law  was  en- 
acted providing  that,  "no  blind  person  shall  receive  boarding 
and  tuition  at  the  institute  for  the  blind  at  the  expense  of  the 
state  unless  they  can  procure  from  the  board  of  supervisors 
of  the  town,  alderman  of  the  ward,  or  trustees  of  the  village 
in  which  they  reside,  a  certificate  of  inability  to  pay  for  such 


WISCONSIN   SCHOOL   FOR   BLIND.  347 

boarding  and  tuition  at  the  rate  of  seventy-five  dollars  per 
annum." 

Governor  Randall,  in  his  message,  treated  tlie  enactment 
as  follows :  "The  act  of  the  last  legislature  has  practically 
worked  a  great  injury  and  been  a  great  disadvantage  to 
both  these  institutions.  (Institutes  for  blind  and  for  deaf  and 
dumb.)  A  majority  of  persons  laboring  under  the  mis- 
fortune of  blindness  or  of  being  deaf  mutes,  are  in  humble 
circumstances  in  life.  The  attachment  of  parents  to  their 
innocently  unfortunate  offspring  is  strong  and  their  afllic- 
tions  great.  The  humanity  of  the  age  has  undertaken  to 
soften  the  harshness  of  these  afflictions  by  providing  these 
public  charities.  Great  states  are  emulating  each  other  in 
efforts  and  expenditures  for  their  amelioration.  But  in  this 
state  the  parents  of  a  blind  child  or  of  a  deaf  mute,  if  unable 
to  bear  the  expense  of  educating  it  away  from  home,  must 
procure,  from  the  town  officers  of  their  own  town  or  village, 
certificates  of  pauperism  before  they  can  take  any  benefit 
from  the  institutions  themselves.  Education  at  our  common 
schools  is  free  to  all,  but  in  these  public  institutions  is  free 
to  only  certified  paupers.  The  law  ought  to  be  repealed." 
The  law  was  repealed.  Similar  legislation  was  enacted  in 
1866,  but,  as  it  lessened  the  attendance  from  fifty-four  to 
eighteen,  the  law  was  soon  repealed.  Since  that  time,  the 
state  has  maintained  the  institution  as  a  free  school  for  the 
blind.  Parents  and  guardians  are  expected  to  furnish  cloth- 
ing and  transportation,  and  to  provide  for  incidental  expenses. 

Teachers  in  the  schools  for  the  seeing  will  find  it  profit- 
able to  visit  the  school  and  study  the  methods  of  instruction 
where  the  sight  cannot  be  utilized,  and  all  the  work  depends 
upon  the  other  senses. 

LvNN  S.  Pease. 


Wisconsin  Industrial  School  for  Boys — Wau- 
kesha. 


The  industrial  school  for  boys  is  situated  just  inside  the 
western  limit  of  the  village  of  Waukesha,  the  county  seat  of 
Waukesha  county.  Three  principal  railroad  lines  pass 
through  the  village,  giving  excellent  facilities  for  transpor- 
tation. The  state  legislature  approved  an  act  March  7, 1857, 
authorizing  the  erection  of  a  house  of  refuge  for  juvenile 
delinquents  of  both  sexes.  After  the  year  1870  only  boys 
were  committed  to  the  school.  The  name  of  the  institution 
has  undergone  some  changes,  first,  "house  of  refuge,"  then, 
"reform  school,"  now,  industrial  school  for  boys.  The  insti- 
tution was  formally  opened  July  25,  1860.  The  first  build- 
ing burned  down  in  1866  ;  the  same  year  a  central  building 
and  the  family  cottages  were  erected.  The  number  of  family 
cottages  have  been  increased  from  time  to  time,  until  at  the 
present  time  there  are  two  family  cottages,  capable  of  accom- 
modating four  hundred  boys.  The  largest  number  atany  time 
was  438.  Forty  boys  were  committed  the  first  year.  The 
number  committed  yearly  from  the  opening  to  the  present 
date  has  varied  from  forty  in  1862  to  198  in  1891.  The  total 
number  committed  up  to  date  is  3,373,  of  whom  sixty-seven 
were  girls.  The  term  of  commitment  was  at  first  fixed  from 
three  months  to  one  year.  It  soon  became  apparent,  in  order 
to  get  the  best  results,  that  the  term  should  be  during  minor- 
ity, with  power  in  the  hands  of  the  board  of  managers  to 
release  on  parole,  subject  to  return  for  non-compliance  with 
the  conditions  of  release.  The  control  of  the  school  has 
always  been  under  a  state  board  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor. The  number  and  make-up  of  this  board  has  been 
changed  a  few  times.  The  present  state  board  of  control 
consists  of  six  members,  for  terms  of  five  years  each.  They 
have  always  had  power  to  appoint  the  superintendent, 
matron,  etc.,  yearly.  The  selection  of  the  subordinate  offi- 
cers is  made  by  the  superintendent,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  board.  The  wisdom  of  this  method  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  only  five  different  men  have  been  appointed 

348 


WISCONSIN   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOL   FOR   BOYS.  349 

to  the  superintendency  in  the  thirty-two  years  of  the  school's 
existence.  The  educational  department  is  under  the  charge 
of  a  principal  teacher  and  eight  associate  teachers.  The 
school  is  graded  and  kept  as  nearly  in  touch  with  the  public 
schools  as  practicable  under  existing  circumstances.  The 
industrial  part  of  the  school  consists  of  work  in  sock  factory, 
boot  and  shoe  factory,  tailor  shop,  and  the  farming  and  gar- 
dening of  over  four  hundred  acres  of  good,  tillable  land, 
besides  much  general  work. 

E.  Dixon. 


Wisconsin  Industrial  School  for  Girls. 


The  Wisconsin  industrial  school  for  girls,  located  in  Mil- 
waukee, was  the  outgrowth  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  benevo- 
lent women  of  Milwaukee  to  put  a  stop  to  street  begging, 
which,  during  the  hard  times  of  1875,  had  increased  to  an 
extent  almost  alarming. 

The  city  Bible  and  benevolent  societ}'  was  about  closing 
its  efforts  in  that  line,  and  concluded  to  merge  its  work  of 
district  visiting  and  Bible  reading  into  that  of  rescuing  and 
providing  for  tTie  street  waifs  and  gathering  them  into  schools. 
This  was  dotie  b}^  following  them  and  in  every  possible  way 
taking  them  out  of  the  streets,  alleys  and  back-yards.  They 
were  persuaded,  by  furnishing  them  with  good  clothing 
and  warm,  comfortable  rooms,  to  enter  the  day  industrial 
sciiool  which  women  had  opened  as  a  charity.  In  1875, 
while  the  thermometer  stood  below  zero,  two  ladies  spent  a 
day  driving  their  own  horse  in  order  to  secure  rooms  in 
which  to  open  the  new  school.  With  two  little  waifs  in  two 
small  rooms  they  opened  a  day  industrial  school.  Their 
bands  were  empty,  but  tiieir  courage  strong,  and  out  of  their 
small  beginning  the  present  institution  has  grown. 

By  their  efforts  statutes  were  enacted  prohibiting  beg- 
ging, under  pretext  of  peddling,  in  the  streets  or  at  doors,  or 
begging  in  any  form,  and  ordering  the  arrest  of  all  violations 
of  this  act.  These  women  organized  the  school,  soliciting  aid 
from  the  citizens,  electing  a  self-perpetuating  board  of  man- 
agers, and  maintaining  it  entirely  upon  funds  raised  by  their 
own  efforts  until  the  15th  of  April,  1875.  At  this  time  an 
act  was  passed  by  the  state  legislature  authorizing  industrial 
schools,  and  under  this  act  the  present  school  was  legally 
organized. 

One  of  the  peculiar  features  of  the  school  is  that,  while 
organized  under  the  legal  enactment  from  which  it  derives 
all  its  important  powers,  and  subject  like  all  state  institu- 
tions to  the  supervision  of  the  state  ])oard  of  charities,  it  is, 
notwithstanding,  under  the  management  of  an  unpaid  and 
voluntary  association  of  w^omen,  and  thus  entirely  exempt 
from  political  influence. 

850 


WISCONSIN   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOL   FOR  GIRLS.  351 

The  children  are  committed  by  magistrates,  or  taken 
from  dangerous  surroundings  anywhere,  the  aim  being  to 
form  in  their  lives  habits  of  order,  decency  and  industry. 
In  the  beginning  the  work  was  carried  on  in  rented  build- 
ings, poorly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  childreUj  and  the 
funds  were  raised  by  private  solicitation,  with  the  exception 
of  one  thousand  ($1,000)  dollars  donated  by  the  state  in  its 
first  year. 

In  the  winter  of  1877  the  board  asked  the  legislature  to 
give  it  a  home  for  the  children  and  in  1878  a  bill  was  passed 
appropriating  the  sum  of  $15,000  for  a  building,  providing 
the  city  would  donate  to  the  state  ground  on  which  to  place 
it.  This  was  done,  and  early  in  1879  the  new  quarters  were 
occupied. 

In  1880  the  number  of  children  had  increased  until 
more  room  was  absolutely  needed,  and  in  that  year  the  legis- 
lature made  its  second  appropriation  of  $15,000  for  a  build- 
ing and  repairs.  Again,  in  1882,  it  was  necessary  to  ask  for 
more  room,  especially  as  it  had  become  a  necessity  to  sepa- 
rate the  oldest  girls  Irom  the  very  young  inmates ;  and  again 
the  legislature  gave  $15,000.  With  this  a  cottage  was  built, 
equipped  Avith  its  own  school-room  and  dormitories.  The 
state  has  since,  at  each  session  of  the  legislature,  contributed 
money  for  repairs  of  the  buildings  and  care  of  the 
grounds. 

The  board  of  managers  is  as  follows :  Mrs.  M.  E.  B. 
Lynde,  president;  Mrs.  A.  J.  Aikens,  1st  vice  president; 
Mrs.  J.  L.  Kaine,  secretary  ;  Mrs.  W.  S.  Candee,  treasurer ; 
Mrs.  A.  J.  Aikens,  chairman  executive  committee;  Miss 
Sarah  E.  Peirce,  superintendent. 

The  following  statistics  of  the  school  for  the  j'ears 
1891-92,  indicate  clearly  the  extent  and  nature  of  its  work  : 

TABLE  I. — NUMBER  IN  THE  SCHOOL  DURING  THE   PAST  TWO  YEARS. 

1891.  1892. 

In  school  October  1st 183  182 

Since  received,  including  returns 126  153 

Number  under  care ~^ _  309  835 

Dismissed  during  the  year „ „ _ 127  112 

Remaining  in  school  at  close  of  year 182  223 

Boys _^ „    32  .S3 

Girls , „.._  1.50  190 

Average  number ~~ 184  188 

Average  age -^ 13  12?^ 

Supported  by  counties > ^„ 168  212 

Supported  by  friends 14  U 

Total „ 182  ■     223 

Cost  per  capita  per  week 82  37  |2  47 


352  WISCONSIN   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOL   FOR   GIRLS. 

TABLE  II.— CHILDREN  COMMITTED  BY  COURTS  AND  SUPERVISORS. 

1891. 

In  school  October  1st „^ _ 169 

Received  by  commitment .^_ 82 

Total  number  under  care ^ 251 

Dismissed  during  the  year 115 

Returned  after  dismissal _ _ 43 

Number  remaining  away „ „  72 

Committed  children  still  in  school 179 


1892. 

179 
90 

269 
99 
42 
57 

212 


TABLR  III.— AGES  OF  COMMITTED  CHILDREN  WHEN  RECEIVED. 


Less  than  one  year  old _ 2 

One  year  old..." 1 

Two  years  old ^ 4 

Three  years  old 2 

Four  years  old ►. „.,  7 

Five  years  old „ —._  7 

Six  years  old ^...  5 

Seven  years  old 8 

Eight  years  old 7 

Nine  years  old 16 

Ten  years  old 2 


Eleven  years  old 

Twelve  years  old 

Thirteen  years  old..., 
Fourteen  years  old., 

Fifteen  years  old 

Sixteen  years  old..... 
Seventeen  years  old.. 
Eighteen  years  old... 


.  6 
.  18 
.  28 
.  22 
.  18 
.  15 
,.    1 

172 


TABLE  IV.— AGES  OF  CHILDREN  DISMISSED. 


One  year  old  and  under 1 

Two  years  old  and  under ^..    2 

Three  yearsold _ 2 

Four  years  old ^..    4 

Five  years  old ^....^ _    8 

Six  years  old 3 

Seven  years  old ^ 4 

Eight  years  old ^ «..    6 

Nine  years  old 13 

Ten  yearsold 12 

Eleven  years  old .^ 4 

Twelve  years  old 4 


Thirteen  years  old.. 
Fourteen  years  old 
Fifteen  years  old 

Sixteen  years  old 

Seventeen  years  old 
Eighteen  years  old 
Nineteen  years  old 

Twenty  years  old 

Twenty-one  years  old 


214 


TABLE  v.— MANNER  OF  DI8.MISSAL  OF  COMMITTED  CHILDREN. 


1891.        1892.    Total. 


Adoption ^ ™ 1  2 

Indenture ^.«. -    5  7 

Service ~ ^ ~~  45  20 

Returned  to  friends ~ 47  56 

Returned  to  county 0  1 

Transferred  to  Boys'  Industrial  School 3  1 

Transferred  to  State  School  for  Dependent  Children ^ 4  4 

Transferred  to  St.  Francis  Orphan  Asylum 3  0 

Transferred  to  insaneasylum ..„ 0  1 

Attained  majority „ 1  2 

Discharged  to  be  married 0  1 

Transferred  to  Home  of  Good  Shepherd 1  0 

Death ^ 4  3 

Discharged  to  learn  dressmaking „ 1  1 

115  99 


3 

12 
65 
108 
1 
4 
8 
3 
1 
3 
1 
1 


214 


WISCONSIN   INDUSTRIAL   SCHOOL   FOR   GIRLS. 

TABLE  VI.— SCHOOL-ROOM  STATISTICS. 


353 


The  number  under  Instruction  varies  from  Table  I.  on  accouat  of  three  in> 
capacitated  for  scliool  work,  one  in  the  hospital,  and  two  babies> 


Present  Classiiication  of  Schools. 


"A"  Class— Seventh  Grade 

Arithmetic,  from  Percentage  forward.  Harper's  Geog- 
raphy, finished  and  reviewed.  United  States  Hist- 
ory. Grammar.  Phjsiology.  Constitution.  Fifth 
Reader.    Spelling  and  Writing. 

"B"  Class— Sixth  Grade 

Arithmetic  from  Denominate  Numbers  forward.  New 
Eclectic  Geography.  Grammar.  Physiology.  His- 
tory, L'nited  States.  Fourth  Reader.  Spelling  and 
Writing. 

"C"  Class— Fifth  Grade 

Arithmetic,  from  Simple  Fractions  forward.  New 
Eclectic  Geography.  Third  Reader.  Physiology. 
Writing  and  Spelling. 

"D"'  Class — Fourth  Grade 

Arithmetic,  Robinson's  Rudiments.  Geography,  New 
Eclectic.  Third  and  Second  Readers.  Spelling  and 
Writing. 

"E"  Class— Third  Grade 

Robinson's  First  Book  in  Arithmetic.  Reading. 
Writing  and  Spelling. 

Primary.  Class— Second  Grade 

Number  Work.    First  Reader.    Writing  and  Spelling. 
Kindergarten 


Cottage 
Home. 


13 


26 


Main 
Home. 


17 


28 


11 


Chi. 
Home. 


Total. 


30 


46 


21 
34 

220 


Mrs.  M.  E.  B.  Lynde. 


The  Wisconsin  System  of  Public  Day  Schools 
for  Deaf  Mutes. 


Wisconsin  laid  the  foundations  of  her  educational  sys" 
tern  in  accordance  with  the  wisdom  and  conditions  of  the 
period.  On  these  she  has  built  her  schools  and  educational 
institutions,  which  have  developed  with  her  growth,  pro- 
gress and  enlightenment  inspired  by  a  spirit  of  humanity. 

In  providing  for  the  education  of  her  deaf-mute  chil- 
dren she  has  shown  moral  elevation  and  refined  sympa- 
thies. 

STATE  INSTITUTION   FOR   THE   DEAF. 

The  nucleus  for  her  system  of  educating  deaf-mutes 
was  a  small  private  school  at  Delavan  opened  at  an  early 
day.  From  that  school  sprang  the  state  institution  for  the 
deaf,  which  has  taken  high  rank  among  institutions  of  its 
class.  During  a  period  of  about  twenty-five  years  no  other 
school  existed  in  Wisconsin  for  the  education  of  deaf-mutes. 
Indeed,  no  other  provision  was  suggested  or  deemed  desira- 
ble. Deaf-mute  children  were  unavoidably  removed  from 
their  "  homes,  separated  from  their  families,  transported  to 
Delavan  and  there  confined  in  the  state  institution  during 
the  period  of  their  education.  They  were  shut  up  with 
deaf-mutes,  with  little  opportunity  for  associating  with  hear- 
ing and  speaking  people,  and,  being  taught  mostly  by  signs, 
were  inadequately  prepared  to  associate  with  hearing  and 
speaking  communities.  They  were,  however,  well  cared  for 
and  as  well  taught  by  the  sign  method  as  possible,  and  gen- 
erally became  good  and  useful  citizens. 

The  state  institution  for  the  deaf  has  ever  been,  and  will 
doubtless  long  continue  to  be,  a  blessing  to  deaf-mutes  and 
to  the  commonwealth,  but  its  usefulness  will  increase  and  its 
right  to  exist  be  prolonged  in  proportion  as  it  advances  in 
the  oral  method  of  educating  deaf-mutes,  which  must  neces- 
sarily be  slow,  if  the  sign  and  orally  taught  deaf-mutes  are 
allowed  to  freely  mingle,  as  seems  inevitable,  in  that  institu- 
tion. 

With  the  growth  of  the  state  and  the  increase  of  the 
population,  it  became  necessary  from  time  to  time  to  enlarge 


PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  355 

the  institution  at  Delavan  to  meet  increasing  demands  upon 
it,  until  it  had  an  annual  attendance  of  nearly  two  hundred 
deaf-mute  children,  maintained  and  taught  at  a  per  capita 
cost  origmally  of  about  $200,  which  has  been  gradually  re- 
duced to  about  $150  per  annum,  not  counting  the  invest- 
ment in  the  plant,  which  brings  the  per  capita  cost  consider- 
ably higher. 

In  later  years,  improvements  in  the  methods  of  instruc- 
tion were  introduced  into  the  institution  at  Delavan,  where- 
by semi-mutes  and  those  believed  to  have  special  aptitude 
for  it  are  taught  orall}^  and  industrial  instruction  and  train- 
ing have  also  been  introduced. 

DAWN  OF  A  BETTER  ERA, 

The  tide  of  immigration  brought  to  Wisconsin,  many 
intelligent  Germans  acquainted  with  the  articulate  method 
of  teaching  the  deaf  universal  in  Germany.  Indeed,  the  oral 
method  of  teaching  the  deaf  was  beginning  to  attract  general 
attention,  and  the  fullness  of  time  had  arrived  for  Wisconsin 
to  advance  in  this  direction.  A  few  Germans  in  Milwaukee 
started  the  movement,  the  honor  of  which  belongs  to  the  late 
Peter  L.  Dohmen  and  Mr.  Carl  Trieschmann.  They  formed 
the  acquaintance  of  Prof.  Adam  Stettner,  a  teacher  of  articu- 
lation for  deaf-mutes,  and  encouraged  him  to  open  such  a 
school  in  Mihvaukee,  which  he  did  January  14,  1878,  with 
four  pupils,  which  increased  tliat  year  to  seventeen  pupils. 
This  was'a  boarding  and  day  school  taught  at  first  in  the 
German  language.  A  number  of  philanthropic  citizens, 
mostly  Germans,  soon  became  interested  in  the  school  and  its 
methods  of  instruction,  and  formed  an  association  to  assist  in- 
digent children  to  its  benefits  and  promote  the  spread  of  the 
oral  methods  of  educating  deaf-mutes. 

WISCONSIN  PHONOLOGICAL  INSTITUTE. 

In  June,  1878,  a  permanent  organization  was  effected, 
which  was  incorporated  under  the  title  of  the  "  Wisconsin  Pho- 
nological Institute"  January  20, 1879,  with  120  members.  For 
a  time  it  conducted  its  proceedings  and  kept  its  records  in  the 
German  language. 

The  first  officers  were  president,  Guido  Pfister ;  vice- 
president,  B.  Leidersdorf;  secretary,  P.  L.  Dohmen  ;  treasurer, 
L.  Teweles;  trustees,  C.  Trieschmann,  J.  F.  Singer  and  B. 
Stern.  Guido  Pfister  was  succeeded  in  the  presidency  by  Mr. 
Bernhard  Stern,  whose  energy  and  intelligent  devotion  have 
greatly  advanced  the  cause. 


356  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

LADIF.S'    AID    SOCIETY. 

Knowing  that  the  mothers  of  the  city  would  sympathize 
deeply  with  the  unfortunate  class  of  children  fostered  by  the 
institute,  the  board  of  trustees,  October,  1878,  extended  an 
invitation  to  the  ladies  of  Milwaukee  to  lend  their  assistance, 
which  they  did  by  forming,  November  15, 1878,  a  ladies'  aid 
society,  which  soon  had  191  members  paying  quarterly  dues 
of  $1.00  each.  The  revenues  from  this  source  were  put  at 
interest,  as  a  fund  to  purchase  or  erect  suitable  buildings  for 
a  school,  but  was  subsequently  devoted  to  training  teachers 
of  the  deaf  by  the  oral  method. 

The  ladies'  aid  society  also  watched  over  the  children, 
provided  instruction  in  sewing,  and  gave  them  delightful 
picnic  and  Christmas  entertainments.  Without  their  assist- 
ance the  institute  would  have  accomplished  much  less  than 
it  has.     Indeed,  their  aid  has  been  most  timely  and  valuable. 

The  active  membership  of  the  aid  society  is  composed 
almost  entirely  of  German  mothers,  who,  continuing  stead- 
fastly their  work,  have  brought  much  happiness  to  the  deaf 
children  in  the  school  and  encouragement  to  the  teachers  in 
their  arduous  labors. 

For  the  progress  which  Wisconsin  has  made  in  the  edu- 
cation of  the  deaf,  by  the  oral  method  and  establishing  pub- 
lic day  schools  for  that  purpose,  and  for  the  advanced  posi- 
tion which  she  now  occupies  in  that  respect,  she  owes  a  debt 
of  gratitude  to  the  German  mothers  of  Milwaukee  and  to  the 
ladies'  aid  society  of  the  Wisconsin  phonological  institute. 

PROF.    ADAM   STETTNER's   SCHOOL. 

The  school  for  the  oral  instruction  of  the  deaf,  opened  and 
conducted  by  Prof.  Stettner  in  Milwaukee,  and  in  which  he 
was  assisted  in  teaching  by  his  daughter,  Mary,  and  in  the 
boarding  department  by  Mrs.  Stettner,  grew  quite  rapidl}-^, 
until  it  numbered  twenty-four  pupils.  This  school  was  not  con- 
trolled by  the  Wisconsin  phonological  institute,  but  was  under 
its  surveillance  and  patronage.  The  chief  interest  of  the  insti- 
tute in  the  Stettner  school,  was  to  give  indigent  children  its 
advantages  and  to  promote  speech  among  the  deaf  in  Wis- 
consin and  throughout  the  country,  making  use  of  the  school 
to  some  extent  to  illustrate  the  pure  oral  method  of  teaching 
the  deaf  as  it  exists  in  Germany. 

With  these  objects  in  view  the  institute  established  close 
relations  with  Stettner's  school,  and  these  relations  continued 
until  the  close  of  the  school  year  1883.  Prof.  Stettner  con- 
tinued his  school  until  1884. 


PUBLIC  DAY  SCHOOLS  FOR  DEAF  MUTES.       357 

For  some  time  previous  to  1883,  the  institute  had  more 
and  more  felt  the  need  of  commanding  the  services  of  the 
best  obtainable  exponent  of  its  objects,  both  in  teaching  the 
deaf  speech  and  by  speech,  in  training  teachers  of  the  deaf 
by  the  oral  method,  in  presenting  the  claims  of  the  method 
and  in  the  preparation  of  necessary  text-books.  Upon  suc- 
cess in  finding  such  a  person  the  future  of  tlieir  undertaking 
seemed  to  depend  ;  for  without  competent  teachers  little  real 
progress  could  reasonably  be  expected. 

At  this  juncture  a  member  of  the  board,  Prof.  D.  C. 
Luening,  principal  of  a  Milwaukee  public  school,  happily 
directed  attention  to  Prof.  Paul  Binner,  a  teacher  of  the  Ger- 
man language  in  the  Milwaukee  public  schools,  whose  gen- 
eral education,  special  acquirements,  experience  and  aptitudes 
pointed  him  out  as  the  man  for  the  occasion.  Accordingly 
an  arrangement  was  made  by  which  he  should  prepare  for 
the  work. 

In  August,  1883,  the  institute  engaged  the  services  of 
Paul  Binner  at  a  salary  of  $1,000  per  annum  to  devote  his 
time  to  the  cause  of  the  oral  instruction  of  the  deaf.  Mr. 
Binner  visited  the  various  articulation  schools  in  other 
portions  of  the  country  at  the  expense  of  the  institute,  to  ob- 
serve their  methods. 

On  his  return,  by  arrangement  with  tlie  Milwaukee 
school  board,  a  day  school  for  the  deaf  children  was  opened 
in  one  of  the  public  school  buildings  by  the  Phonological 
institute,  with  Mr.  Binner  in  charge  of  the  school.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  prospectus  of  the  school  issued  at  the  time  : 

"THE  DUMB    SHALL  SPEAK." 

MILWAUKEE     DAY     SCHOOL     FOR    THE     IMPROVED    EDUCATION    OF 

DEAF-MUTE  CHILDREN,  BY  THE  PURE  ORAL  OR  GERMAN 

ARTICULATE  METHOD. 

The  board  of  directors  of  the  Wisconsin  phonological  insti- 
tute for  deaf-mutes  have  the  greatest  pleasure  in  announcing 
that  on  Monday,  October  15,  1883,  they  will  open,  in  the  city  of 
Milwaukee,  a  day  school  for  the  improved  education  of  deaf- 
mute  children.  In  this  school  the  instruction  will  be  given  by 
the  pure  oral  or  German  articulate  method,  by  which  deaf-mutes 
learn  to  speak  and  to  read  from  the  lips.  This  method  is  the 
only  one  that  can  restore  deaf-mutes  to  an  equality  with  hear- 
ing and  speaking  people.  The  day  school  is  best  adapted  to  the 
oral  method  ;  also  to  the  general  progress  and  welfare  of  deaf- 
mutes,  because  it  gives  them  free  association  with  hearing  and 
speaking  people,  and  protects  them  against  the  evils  that  un- 


358  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

avoidably  arise  from  the  constant  association  of  deaf-mutes  with 
deaf-mutes,  which  is  a  serious  objection  to  contining  such  chil- 
dren in  deaf-mute  asylums,  institutions  and  boarding  schools, 
as  is  now  the  general  practice. 

The  object  of  our  society  is  to  spread  the  pure  oral  or  Ger- 
man articulate  method  ;  to  procure  the  establishment  of  day 
schools  for  deaf-mutes  the  same  as  for  hearing  children,  as  a 
part  of  the  public  school  system  of  the  country ;  to  prepare 
teachers  of  articulation  ;  and,  as  far  as  its  limited  means  will 
allow,  aid  indigent  deaf-mutes  to  obtain  an  education.  In  be- 
half of  these  philanthropic  objects  we  confidently  appeal  to  the 
intelligence,  humanity  and  benevolence  of  the  people  of  our 
state  and  country. 

The  Milwaukee  day  school  for  deaf-mutes  will  1)e  in  charge 
of  Professor  Paul  Binner,  who  brings  to  the  work  intelligence 
and  enthusiasm  in  the  cause.  He  will  at  once  visit  the  best 
Eastern  schools  of  articulation  for  deaf-mutes,  with  a  view  to 
adopting  in  the  Milwaukee  school  the  best  results  of  experience. 
We  are  reluctantly  compelled,  for  want  of  funds,  to  limit  the 
number  of  pupils  to  be  received  into  ouy  day  school,  and  in 
order  to  carry  it  on,  are  obliged  to  charge  tuition  to  cover  a  part 
of  the  expense  of  maintaining  it.  Tuition  per  term,  payable  in 
advance,  Avill  be  Slo.  The  average  cost  to  the  society  of  the  in- 
struction will  be  about  SlOO  per  pupil  per  annum.  In  cases  of 
necessity  the  board  will  make  such  deductions  from  above  rates  as 
circumstances  demand,  and  its  means  wall  allow.  But  it  is  hoped 
that  no  one  will  ask  it  unless  it  should  be  necessary  to  do  so. 
It  is  also  hoped  that  patrons  of  the  school  will,  if  able  to  do  so, 
cheerfully  pay  as  large  a  part  of  the  actual  cost  of  instruction  as 
they  can,  so  that  we  may  do  more  for  those  who  need  our  aid. 

We  shall  be  happy  to  be  in  communication  with  parents 
and  guardians  of  deaf-mute  children  in  Milwaukee  and  else- 
where, who  wish  their  children  instructed  by  the  improved 
method ;  also  with  intelligent,  cultivated  and  high-minded  young 
gentlemen  and  ladies  who  feel  that  they  would  like  to  become 
teachers  by  this  method. 

A})plication  for  admission  to  the  ^lilwaukee  day  school  for 
deaf-mutes  may  be  made  in  person  or  by  letter  to  the  under- 
signed. 

Aug.  F.  Mueller,  Secretarj^, 

278  East  Water  Street, 
R.  C.  Spencer,  President,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

Corner  Broadway  and  Wisconsin  Street, 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 

PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS. 

March  31,  1885,  the  legislature  passed  a  bill  providing 
for  the  establishment  in  incorporated  cities  and  villages  of 


PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  359 

public  day  schools  for  the  instruction  of  deaf-mutes  by 
teaciiers  of  approved  qualifications,  to  be  ascertained  by  the 
state  superintendent,  with  state  aid  at  |100  per  pupil  for 
nine  months'  instruction  and  in  that  ratio  for  shorter  terms. 

Under  this  law  the  Milwaukee  school  board  relieved  the 
institute  of  its  school,  which  became  a  public  day  school  and 
as  such  still  exists  and  grows. 

Under  this  law,  similar  schools  taught  by  the  oral 
method  have  been  established  by  the  school  boards  of  La 
Crosse  and  Wausau. 

NORMAL   DEPARTMENT. 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  great  necessity  for  qualified 
teachers  of  the  oral  method,  the  institute  early  turned  its 
attention  to  the  subject,  but  made  little  progress  until  it 
opened  a  day  school  of  its  own  in  1883,  when  it  earnestly 
entered  on  this  branch  of  the  work,  making  the  day  school 
a  practice  school  for  normal  students. 

In  1887  Prof.  Binner,  at  the  expense  of  the  institute 
and  by  permission  of  the  Milwaukee  school  board,  visited 
the  oral  schools  of  Germany,  Switzerland  and  England  to 
infqrm  himself  of  their  methods  and  management. 

By  arrangement  made  with  the  Milwaukee  school  board 
the  normal  department  of  the  institute  was  continued  under 
Professor  Binner,  in  connection  with  the  public  da}^  school 
for  deaf  children,  which  was  also  used  as  a  school  of  practice 
for  normal  students. 

Tuition  in  the  normal  department  has  been  free,  and 
the  institute  has  given  financial  aid  to  the  needy  normal 
students. 

By  these  means  has  the  Milwaukee  public  school  for  the 
deaf  been  supplied  with  trained  teachers,  and  several  teach- 
ers have  also  been  supplied  to  other  schools  and  institutions 
for  the  education  of  deaf-mutes  both  in  and  out  of  Wisconsin. 

PROPAGANDA. 

Throughout  its  history  it  has  been  the  aim  of  the  Wis- 
consin phonological  institute  to  propagate  the  pure  oral 
method  of  teaching  deaf-mutes. 

It  therefore  began  its  work  by  drawing  the  attention  of 
the  community  to  the  claims  and  advantages  of  the  method, 
enlisting  the  interest  and  securing  the  support  of  parents, 
educators,  legislators,  school  boards,  philanthropists,  business 
men  and  the  press.  The  success  attending  its  efforts  has  far 
exceeded  its  anticipations. 


360  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   IMUTES. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

In  addition  to  the  several  annual  reports  issued  by  the  in- 
stitute, it  published  in  1879  a  pamphlet  on  "The  Articulate 
Method  ot  Teaching  Deaf-Mutes,"  edited  by  Prof.  D.  C.  Luen- 
ing.  This  was  followed  in  1887  by  a  small  book  entitled 
"The  Dumb  Speak,"  "A  History  of  the  Education  of  the 
Deaf  and  Dumb,"  prepared  by  Prof.  Paul  Binner  and  neatly 
printed  free  of  charge  by  Cramer,  Aikens  &  Cramer,  publish- 
ers of  the  Evening  Wisconsin. 

In  1884  it  issued  a  pamphlet  giving  briefly  the  astonish- 
ing results  of  Prof.  Alexander  Graham  Bell's  investigations 
regarding  "the  formation  of  a  deaf  variet}'  of  the  human 
race"  by  means  of  the  sign  language,  the  segregation  and 
seclusion  of  congenital  deaf-mutes  in  institutions,  and  conse- 
quent intermarriages  between  them.  As  a  remedy  for  this 
and  other  serious  objections  to  the  prevailing  method  of  edu- 
cating and  caring  for  deaf-mutes,  this  pamphlet  urged  the 
adoption  of  the  oral  method  and  the  establishment  of  day 
schools  in  incorporated  cities  and  villages  as  a  part  of  the 
public  school  system,  with  limited  state  aid,  and  contained  the 
form  of  a  law  for  that  purpose,  the  enactment  of  which  was 
secured.  It  contained  also  an  article  by  Prof.  Paul  Binner 
on  the  "Home  Training  of  Deaf-Mute  Children." 

LEGISLATION, 

Convinced  that  the  state  institution  for  the  deaf  at 
Delavan  was  not  in  a  condition  to  do  the  Vjest  for  the  oral 
method  of  educating  deaf-mutes,  and  that  it  must  be  at  a  seri- 
ous disadvantage  in  that  regard,  so  long  as  signs  were  taught 
or  allowed  in  that  institution,  the  Wisconsin  phonological  in- 
stitute early  saw  that  about  all  that  could  be  done  in  the 
state  institution  was  to  encourage  more  attention  to  the  arti- 
culation teaching.  Happily  much  progress  has  been  made 
there  in  this  regard  and  will  doubtless  continue,  for  the  trend 
is  strongly  toward  the  pure  oral  method. 

It  early  became  apparent  to  the  phonological  institute, 
that  further  provision  by  the  state  was  necessary  if  any  great 
general  improvement  was  to  be  made  in  the  treatment  and 
education  of  deaf-mutes.  Accordingly  the  subject  was 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  governor  and  the  legislature  by 
exhibitions  of  the  pupils  of  Prof.  Stettner's  school,  which,  by 
invitation  of  the  phonological  institute,  was  visited  by  Gov- 
ernor Smith  and  committee  of  the  legislature,  the  Milwaukee 
school  board  and  the  chamber  of  commerce. 


PUBLIC  DAY  SCHOOLS  FOR  DEAF  MUTES.       361 

Governor  Smith,  in  his  annual  message  to  the  legislature, 
directed  attention  to  the  subject  and  urged  its  favorable  con- 
sideration. 

At  that  time  it  was  in  contemplation  to  ask  the  state 
to  establish  a  separate  institution,  to  be  exclusively  devoted 
to  the  oral  instruction  of  deaf-mutes,  but  this  idea  was  never 
formulated  into  a  bill  or  brought  before  the  legislature. 

About  this  time  a  bill  was  introduced  into  the  legis- 
lature by  the  late  Senator  George  H.  Paul,  which  provided 
state  aid  of  fifteen  dollars  per  month  for  each  deaf-mute 
pupil  taught  in  any  public,  private  or  parochial  school  in  the 
state. 

The  Wisconsin  phonological  institute  believed  that  this 
measure  was  not  only  unwise  from  an  educational  point  of 
view,  but  otherwise  open  to  grave  objections,  because  it 
would  give  state  support  to  private  schools  and  institutions 
and  to  parochial  schools,  and  in  this  latter  respect  violate  the 
religious  liberties  of  the  people  by  compelling  them  to  sup- 
port, against  their  will,  religious  teachings  and  worship. 

Acting  in  accordance  with  these  views,  the  Wisconsin 
phonological  institute  remonstrated  against  the  passage  of 
the  bill  and  it  was  defeated. 

The  institute  had  now  enlisted  the  interest  of  the  Mil- 
waukee school  board  in  favor  of  its  objects,  a  committee  of 
which,  through  its  president,  Hon.  Joshua  Stark,  in  1880 
made  a  strong  report  favoring  the  oral  method  and  the  duty 
of  the  board  to  provide  instruction  for  deaf-mutes,  and  in 
favor  of  public  day  schools  for  this  purpose,  with  state  aid, 
and  eloquently  urged  the  inestimable  value  of  the  home  and 
the  family  to  deaf-mute  children,  the  claims  of  which  the  state 
institution  for  the  deaf  cannot  suitably  respect  and  utilize. 

In  pursuance  of  this  report,  a  committee  of  the  school 
board  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  bill  for  presentation  to  the 
legislature,  giving  authority  to  the  board  to  establish  and 
maintain  a  school  or  schools  for  the  instruction  of  deaf-mutes 
residing  in  the  city,  and  pledging  the  state  to  the  payment  of 
a  fixed  sum  annually  per  pupil,  towards  the  support  of  such 
a  school. 

This  action  by  the  Milwaukee  school  board  was  sug- 
gested by  a  similar  provision  in  Massachusetts,  by  which  the 
Horace  Mann  school  for  the  deaf  in  Boston  is  sustained. 

The  bill  prepared  by  the  Milwaukee  school  board  was 
introduced  into  the  legislature  at  its  session  in  1881,  but 
failed  because  its  merits  were  not  explained  and  understood. 


362  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  legislature,  in  1882,  the  hill  was 
again  introduced  and  much  pains  taken  to  explain  it  to  the 
committees  to  which  it  was  referred  and  to  members.  At  the 
suggestion  of  a  member  of  the  legislature  it  was  amended  so 
as  to  make  it  general  and  apply  to  all  incorporated  cities  and 
villages.  In  this  form  it  passed  the  assembly  late  in  the  ses- 
sion, but  failed  in  the  senate  for  want  of  time. 

The  following  summer  the  national  education  associ- 
ation held  its  annual  meeting  in  Madison.  The  division  for 
deaf-mute  teachers  was  addressed  by 

PROF.  ALEXANDER  GRAHAM  BELL. 

He  strongly  advocated  the  oral  education  for  the  deaf, 
and  day  schools  for  that  purpose. 

Governor  Rusk  listened  with  close  attention  and  in  his 
next  annual  message  recommended  measures  favored  by 
the  phonological  institute  and  advocated  by  Prof.  Bell,  for 
the  improved  education  and  treatment  of  deaf-mutes. 

At  that  session  of  the  legislature  the  bill  was  again  in- 
troduced, so  modified,  however,  as  to  make  the  establishment 
of  public  day  schools  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  state 
board  of  supervision  and  state  superintendent  of  public  in- 
struction, with  a  view  to  bringing  the  state  institution  for 
the  deaf  and  day  schools  for  the  deaf  into  systematic  rela- 
tions for  the  advancement  of  deaf-mute  education. 

Prof.  Alexander  Graham  Bell  became  deeply  interested 
in  this  measure,  and,  upon  invitation  of  the  committees  on 
education  of  the  senate  and  assembly,  came  from  Washing- 
ton to  Madison,  where  he  spent  two  weeks  explaining  it  to 
the  legislature  and  urging  its  passage.  On  leaving  Madi- 
son, he  placed  in  the  hands  of  each  member  of  the  legis- 
lature the  following  open  letter  to  the  committees  on  educa- 
tion of  the  senate  and  assembly,  setting  forth  his  views  regard- 
ing the  merits  of  the  bill : 

AN   OPEN   LETTER   CONCERNING   THE    BILL   RELATING    TO    THE    IN- 
STRUCTION  OF   DEAF-MUTES   IN   INCORPORATED 
CITIES   AND   VILLAGES. 

Madison,  Wis.,  Feb.  18th,  1885. 

•To  the  committees    on    education    of  the  senate  and  assembly  of 
the  legislature  of  Wisconsin  : 

Gentlemen:  His  Excellency,  Governor  Rusk,  in  his  recent 
message  to  the  legislature,  has  called  attention  to  the  large  num- 
ber of  deaf  children  in  the  state  who  are  growing  up  in  igno- 
rance, and  to  the  fact  that  the  provision  made  for  their  education 


PUBLIC  DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  363 

is  yet  inadequate.  In  1880,  according  to  the  recent  census,  there 
were  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin  1,079  deaf-mutes,  of  whom  600 
were  from  six  to  twenty  years  of  age.  The  total  number  of  deaf- 
mutes  returned  as  then  in  school  was  only  199.  The  following 
facts  show  that  the  means  adopted  by  the  other  states  have  also 
failed  to  bring  under  instruction  a  large  number  of  the  deaf- 
mutes  of  school  age.  (This  age  is  assumed  in  the  census  returns  to 
be  from  six  to  twenty  years.)  Out  of  a  total  of  33,878  deaf-mutes 
in  the  United  States  in  1880,  15,059  were  of  school  age  ;  and  the 
total  number  of  deaf-mutes  returned  as  then  in  the  institutions 
and  schools  of  the  United  States  was  only  5,393.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  best  means  of  reaching  and  bringing  under  instruction 
the  uneducated  deaf  children  of  the  country  is  a  subject  demand- 
ing immediate  and  serious  attention.  The  bill  you  are  now  dis- 
cussing, relating  to  the  instruction  of  deaf-mutes  in  incorporated 
cities  and  villages,  touches  this  question. 

It  has  given  me  great  pleasure  to  respond  to  your  cordial  in- 
vitation to  participate  in  your  deliberations,  and  I  think  I  would 
be  wanting  in  my  duty  to  the  deaf,  to  whose  interests  I  have 
given  so  many  years  of  earnest  thought,  were  I  to  leave  Wiscon- 
sin without  placing  in  your  hands,  in  some  permanent  form,  the 
views  I  have  attempted  to  express  to  you  orally. 

The  moment  my  attention  was  directed  to  the  bill  now 
under  consideration,  I  recognized  the  fact  that  a  new  phase  of 
legislation  for  the  benefit  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  had  been  reached, 
of  vast  importance  to  the  deaf  and  to  society.  The  bill  repre- 
sents the  first  attempt  that  has  been  made  in  the  United  States 
to  embody,  in  the  form  of  a  law,  a  principle  of  dealing  with  the 
deaf  and  dumb  that  has  long  been  seen  to  be  advisable  from  a 
theoretical  point  of  view;  and  the  example  of  Wisconsin  will  un- 
doubtedly be  speedily  followed  by  other  states.  The  principle 
involved  may  be  tersely  described  as  the  policy  of  decentraliza- 
tion, the  policy  of  keeping  deaf-mutes  separated  from  one  an- 
other as  much  as  possible  during  the  period  of  education,  and 
in  contact  as  much  as  possible  with  hearing  and  speaking  chil- 
dren of  their  own  age.  The  difficulty  hitherto  has  been  how  to 
accomplish  this.  The  proposed  bill  promises  a  partial  solution 
of  the  problem,  and  is  an  important  step  in  advance. 

When  the  subject  of  the  education  of  the  deaf  first  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  legislature,  the  state  was  thinly  populated, 
and  deaf-mutes  were  few  in  number.  They  were  so  scattered 
throughout  the  state  that  the  only  practicable  method  of  reach- 
ing them  appeared  to  be  to  collect  them  together  into  one  school. 
This  policy  of  centralization  had  also,  up  to  that  time,  been  uni- 
formly adopted  by  the  older  states.  In  pursuance  of  this  policy, 
it  became  necessary  to  remove  the  children  from  their  homes  in 
order  to  instruct  them,  and  this  forced  the  state  to  assume  the 
cost  of  support  as   well   as  tuition.     Dormitories  and  special 


364  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

school  buildings  were  erected,  and  in  1852  the  Wisconsin  insti- 
tution for  the  education  of  the  deaf  was  opened  at  Delavan.  A 
few  veal's  ago  the  buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  in  1880 
the  institution  was  rebuilt,  with  increased  accommodations.  The 
institution  is  now  comfortably  Avell  filled  ;  but  the  returns  of  the 
census  show,  that,  even  if  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  it 
could  not  accommodate  one-half  of  the  deaf-mutes  of  school  age 
in  the  state.  It  is  now  necessary  to  consider  what  additional 
facilities  should  be  provided.  Shall  the  Delavan  institution  be 
enlarged  ?  Shall  a  new  institution  be  erected  in  another  part  ot 
the  state  ?  Or,  shall  schools  of  a  different  kind  be  established  ? 
The  promoters  of  the  bill  propose  a  new  departure. 

They  believe  that  in  many  of  the  incorporated  cities  and  vil- 
lages of  Wisconsin  the  deaf  children  could,  with  limited  state  aid, 
be  educated  in  the  localities  where  they  reside.  By  the  passage 
of  the  bill  the  state  will  offer  facilities  for  the  establishment  ol 
small  day  schools  for  deaf  children  wherever  the  parents  desire 
to  keep  them  at  home  during  the  period  of  instruction.  This 
desire,  I  am  sure,  is  very  general;  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  in 
many  cases  the  struggle  between  parental  affection  and  the  good 
of  the  child  results  in  the  retention  of  the  child  at  home  instead 
of  sending  it  to  school.  By  sending  the  teachers  to  the  children, 
instead  of  the  children  to  the  teachei"s,  wherever  possible,  the 
state  will  accommodate  its  policy  to  the  wishes  of  parents,  and 
bring  comfort  and  happiness  to  many  an  afflicted  family.  The 
state,  also,  will  be  benefited  by  having  deaf  children  brought 
under  educational  influences  who  would  not  otherwise,  without 
compulsion,  be  sent  to  an  institution,  or  who  would  enter  school 
so  late  in  life  as  to  receive  but  little  benefit  from  the  course  of 
instruction. 

It  is  now  well  known  that  those  whom  we  term  "deaf- 
mutes"  have  no  other  natural  defect  save  that  of  deafness.  They 
are  simply  persons  who  are  deaf  from  childhood,  and  many  of 
them  are  only  hard  of  hearing.  The  lack  of  articulate  speech 
which  has  led  to  their  denomination  as  "mutes"  results  from 
lack  of  instruction,  and  not  from  any  defect  of  the  vocal  organs. 
No  one  naturally  acquires  without  instruction  a  language  he  has 
never  heard.  But,  if  children  who  are  born  deaf  or  hard  of  hear- 
ing do  not  naturally  speak,  how,  then,  do  they  think?  It  is 
difficult  for  us  to  realize  the  possibility  of  a  train  of  thought 
carried  on  without  words ;  but  what  words  can  a  deaf  child 
know  who  has  never  heard  the  sounds  of  speech?  What 
we  think,  we  think  in  words,  though  we  may  not  actually 
utter  sounds.  Let  us  eliminate  from  our  consciousness  the 
train  of  words,  and  what  remains  ?  I  do  not  venture  to 
answer  the  question  ;  but  it  is  this,  and  this  alone,  that  belongs 
to  the  thoughts  of  a  deaf  child.  Even  written  words,  as  found 
in  books  and  periodicals,  though  appealing  to  a  sense  possessed 


PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  365 

Tjy  the  deaf  child,  mean  no  more  to  him  without  instruction 
than  a  Russian  or  Chinese  book  would  mean  to  us.  Who,  then, 
can  picture  the  profound  depth  of  the  ignorance  of  the  unedu- 
cated deaf-mute  ?  If  you  would  try  to  realize  the  black  dark- 
ness of  his  mind,  consider  what  your  mental  condition  would 
be  were 'you  to  wipe  out  from  your  memory  everything  you 
have  ever  heard  of  and  everything  you  have  read.  Naturally 
intelligent,  the  deaf  child  looks  out  upon  the  world  and  longs 
for  knowledge.  Common  humanity  demands  that  we  use  every 
means — even  to  compulsion — to  bring  under  instruction  the  deaf 
children  of  Wisconsin.  Upon  other  grounds  also  the  education 
of  deaf  children  is  a  matter  of  importance ;  for  deaf-mutes,  if 
allowed  to  grow  up  without  instruction,  have  all  the  passions  of 
men  and  women,  without  the  restraining  influences  that  spring 
from  a  cultivated  understanding. 

Under  the  enlightening  influences  of  education  they  become 
good  citizens,  amenable  to  the  laws  of  society,  and  able  to  exer- 
cise the  franchise  intelligently.  As  deafness  is  not  necessarily  a 
bar  to  intellectual  culture,  some  are  found  capable  of  the  very 
highest  education.  This  has  been  recognized  by  Congress  by 
the  establishment  of  the  national  college  for  deaf-mutes,  at  Wash- 
ington, Avhich  is  open  to  the  deaf-mutes  of  Wisconsin.  To  show 
the  intellectual  condition  they  can  assume,  I  may  state  that  a 
number  in  this  country  support  themselves  by  literature.  Some 
are  editors,  and  contributors  to  the  magazines  and  daily  journals. 
Two  deaf-mute  brothers  in  Belleville,  Ontario,  are  successful 
lawyers.  There  are  very  few  positions  in  life  which  cannot  be 
occupied  by  deaf  persons.  Nearly  all  the  arts  and  industries 
are  open  to  them,  and  many  of  the  professions.  Even  when 
uneducated  they  are  rarely  a  burden  upon  the  community  ;  for 
deafness  is  no  bar  to  physical  labor.  Indeed,  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  deaf-mutes  are  sometimes  deprived  of  education  on  account 
of  the  value  of  their  labor  at  home.  By  education,  deaf-mutes 
are  raised  from  a  condition  of  mental  degradation  that  is  abso- 
lutely inconceivable,  and  from  a  social  position  but  little  re- 
moved from  slavery,  to  become  intelligent  and  valuable  mem- 
bers of  society,  and  sources  of  wealth  to  the  state. 

Success  in  the  education  of  the  deaf  and  dumb  depends 
on  the  possibility  of  teaching  them  a  language  whereby  ideas 
may  be  imparted  and  the  mind  cultivated.  But  it  is  in  very 
early  childhood  that  language  is  most  easily  acquired.  By 
adopting  a  policy  of  centralization  the  state  has  rendered  it  im- 
possible to  bring  deaf  children  under  instruction  until  after  the 
most  impressionable  period  of  life  has  been  passed.  Wisconsin, 
in  her  constitution,  defines  the  school  age  of  her  children  as  from 
four  to  twenty  years  ;  but  deaf  children,  to  whom  education  is 
so  vitally  important,  cannot  enter  your  institution  until  they 
reach  the  age  of  ten .  Why  should  deaf  children  be  debarred  from 
the  benefits  guaranteed  to  all  by  the  constitution  itself? 


'366  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

The  nearer  the  school  can  be  brought  to  the  home  the  ear- 
lier can  instruction  be  profitably  commenced.  Little  day  schools 
scattered  throughout  the  state  will  meet  a  want  that  is  sorely 
felt.  The  necessary  smallnesg  of  the  schools  will  be  an  element 
in  promoting  their  efficiency.  Under  equal  circumstances  of 
instruction  the  pupils  of  small  schools  make  greater  progress 
than  those  of  large  ones,  because  the  teacher  can  give  more  in- 
dividual attention  to  the  children. 

Another  advantage  of  the  small  day  school  is  the  influence 
on  the  home  surroundings  exerted  by  the  teacher.  There  is  no 
one  so  capable  of  instructing  a  little  child  as  its  own  mother  ; 
but  parents,  as  a  rule,  are  utterly  ignorant  of  all  matters  con- 
nected with  the  education  of  the  deaf  The  proximity  of  the 
home  and  school  must  lead  to  frequent  personal  contact  between 
the  parents  and  teacher.  Information  will  be  sought  and  given, 
and  in  many  cases  the  parents  and  family  will  be  brought  to  co- 
operate intelligently  in  the  work  of  instruction. 

The  bill  contemplates  making  the  day  schools  for  the  deaf  a 
part  of  the  general  public  school  system  of  the  state,  and  school- 
rooms will  be  provided  by  the  incorporated  cities  and  villages  in 
which  such  schools  are  opened .  As  a  very  small  school-room  will 
accommodate  as  many  deaf  children  as  one  teacher  can  profit- 
ably instruct,  economical  and  other  considerations  will  usually 
lead  to  the  selection  of  a  room  in  some  building  already  occupied 
as  a  public  school,  and  thus  the  deaf  children  will  be  brought 
into  close  proximity  to  large  numbers  of  hearing  children  in  the 
same  building.  This  proximit}'  will  favor  the  growth  of  friend- 
ships between  the  deaf  and  the  hearing  pupils,  which  will  be 
invaluable  in  adult  life,  leading  to  business  and  social  relations 
of  the  greatest  importance.  Constant  association  with  hearing 
and  speaking  children  will  accustom  the  deaf  child  to  the  society 
in  which  he  is  to  live  in  the  future.  His  hearing  school-fellows 
and  playmates  will  be  the  men  and  women  by  whom  he  will 
be  sun-ounded  in  adult  life.  How  important,  then,  that  deaf- 
mutes  should  have  the  opportunity  of  cultivating  the  acquaint- 
ance of  hearing  persons  of  their  own  age.  The  friendships  formed 
in  childhood  often  last  through  life.  Living  constantly  in  the 
midst  of  the  industries  and  activities  of  the  communities  in 
which  they  have  interested  personal  friends  to  encourage  and  aid 
them,  the  ways  are  open  to  them  to  acquire  any  trade,  business, 
or  profession  for  which  they  have  aptness  or  inclination.  The 
broad  fields  and  avenues  of  life  invite  them  as  they  do  the  hear- 
ing ;.  whereas,  in  institutions  they  are  limited  to  a  few  mechan- 
ical trades  merely,  not  so  easily  turned  to  account  for  want  of 
that  personal  acquaintance  so  helpful  in  obtaining  desirable 
emplopnent.  Furthermore,  industrial  education  is  being 
brought  into  the  educational  S3'stems  of  the  large  towns,  afford- 


PUBLIC    DAY    SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  367 

ing  advantages  of  a  broader  and  more  thorough  kind  than  insti- 
tutions offer. 

Every  means  that  will  bring  the  deaf  child  into  closer  as- 
sociation and  affiliation  with  hearing  children  of  his  own  age 
will  promote  his  happiness  and  success  in  adult  life.  Associ- 
ation in  the  games  and  plays  of  hearing  children  will  be  an  im- 
portant element  in  bringing  this  about.  Partial  co-education 
with  the  hearing  children  of  the  public  schools  will  also  be  of  use. 
Partial  co-education  is  not  only  perfectly  feasible,  but  will  be  of  ad- 
vantage to  the  deaf  child,  and  a  means  of  economizing  the  time  of 
the  special  teacher.  Deaf  children  require  a  great  deal  of  individual 
instruction,  especially  in  the  early  steps  of  education.  Some  ot 
the  brightest  children  can  be  withdrawn  from  the  special  school- 
room for  short  periods  of  time,  with  advantage  to  the  duller 
pupils,  who  could  then  receive  the  individual  attention  of  the 
specially  skilled  teacher.  There  are  subjects  taught  in  the  public 
schools  in  which  information  is  gained  through  the  eye,  and  in 
such  branches  deaf  children  could  profitably  enter  the  same 
classes  with  the  hearing ;  for  instance,  they  could  join  the  classes 
for  practice  in  writing,  drawing,  and  arithmetic  from  the  black- 
boards and  on  the  slate,  map  drawing,  sewing,  etc.  For  other 
subjects,  special  methods  of  instruction  would  be  necessary, 
especially  in  the  earlier  stages,  and  this  necessitates  the  employ- 
ment ot  a  special  teacher  and  school-room. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  some  of  the  brighter  pupils  might 
ultimately  be  able  to  dispense  with  the  special  teacher  altogether, 
as  cases  are  known  in  the  United  States  where  deaf  children 
ave  successfully  taken  the  full  course  in  the  public  school,  and 
aduated  with  honor  to  themselves  and  their  teachers.  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  these  are  exceptional  cases  ;  and, 
while  they  show  the  possibility  of  complete  co-education  in  some 
cases,  the  experience  of  the  past  has  demonstrated  the  impos- 
sibility of  this  in  the  great  majority  of  cases. 

The  power  of  speech  and  reading  speech  from  the  mouth 
would  evidently  be  of  the  greate'st  assistance  in  establishing  com- 
munication between  deaf  and  hearing  children.  Constant  as- 
sociation with  hearing  and  speaking  children  will  act  as  a  stimu- 
lus to  the  acquisition  of  speech,  which  stimulus  is  wanting  in  an 
institution  where  all  the  playmates  and  associates  are  deaf,  and 
where  some  of  the  teachers  themselves  cannot  hear.  It  is  well 
know  to  all  instructors  of  the  deaf,  that,  in  other  countries  than 
our  own,  deaf-mutes  are  taught  to  speak,  and  that  international 
conventions  of  teachers  of  the  deaf  have  decided  that  speech  and 
speech  reading  should  be  taught  to  all  deaf-mutes,  as  a 'regular 
branch  of  their  education.  That  this  is  not  more  done  in 
America  is  due  to  many  causes,  among  the  most  important  being 
the  extraordinary  ignorance  of  the  American  people  concerning 
the  mechanism  of  speech,  and  the  consequent  difficulty  in  ob- 


368  PUBLIC  DAY  SCHOOLS  EOR  DEAF  MUTES. 

taining  competent  articulation  teachers.  I  doubt  Avhether  one 
person  in  ten  thousand  could  give  an  intelligible  account  of  the 
movements  of  his  mouth  in  uttering  the  simplest  sentence.  In- 
deed, so  gross  is  the  popular  ignorance  of  the  whole  subject  that, 
when  a  deaf-mute  is  taught  to  speak,  people  look  upon  it  as  a 
sort  of  miracle,  and  few  persons  seem  to  be  aware  that  what  is 
here  regarded  as  a  miracle  is  in  other  countries  an  everyday  fact. 
All  the  deaf-mutes  of  Germany  are  taught  to  speak.  In  fact,  so 
general  is  instruction  of  this  kind  that  in  1882  more  than  sixty- 
five  per  cent,  of  the  deaf-mutes  under  instruction  in  the  world, 
outside  the  shores  of  America,  were  taught  to  speak  and  under- 
stand the  speech  of  others  in  purely  oral  schools.  Inside  our 
shores  less  than  nine  per  cent,  were  to  be  found  in  oral  schools. 
In  most  of  our  institutions,  however,  though  they  may  not  be 
classed  as  oral  schools,  speech  is  taught  to  a  selected  few  of  the 
pupils.  The  liAmt  statistics  on  this  subject  show  that  in  May, 
1883,  fourteen  per  cent,  of  the  deaf-mutes  of  America  were  using 
speech  in  the  school-room  as  the  means  of  communication  with 
their  teacher,  eighteen  per  cent,  were  taught  to  speak  as  an  ac- 
complishment, and  sixty-eight  per  cent,  received  no  instruction 
whatever  in  articulation.  In  view  of  the  lamentable  neglect  of 
articulation  teaching  in  this  country,  it  is  encouraging  to  know- 
that  of  the  deaf-mutes  in  the  institutions  and  day  schools  of  the 
New  England  states,  more  than  fifty-four  per  cent,  are  taught  to 
speak. 

In  the  light  of  the  great  success  of  articulation  teaching  in 
Germany,  the  following  feet  is  significant:  I  am  informed  that 
in  that  country  instruction  in  the  mechanism  of  speech  and  the 
anatomy  of  the  vocal  organs  forms  a  part  of  the  regular  curricu- 
lum of  the  normal  schools.  Courses  of  lectures  are  also  given 
on  the  methods  of  teaching  defective  children.  It  then  becomes 
easy  to  select  from  the  normal  schools  suitable  persons  for  teach- 
ers of  the  deaf  and  dumb.  Such  persons  require  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  theory  and  art  of  teaching  and  of  the  mechan- 
ism of  speech.  Then,  with  a  limited  amount  of  practical  ex- 
perience in  a  school  for  the  deaf  under  the  superintendence  of 
an  experienced  principal,  the}^  are  qualified  for  their  work. 

Such  a  plan  is  perfectly  feasible  in  Wisconsin,  and  is 
viewed  with  favor,  I  understand,  b}'  the  state  superintendent. 
A  general  knowledge  of  the  mechanism  of  speech  will  be  of  value 
to  the  teachers  of  your  public  schools  on  account  of  the  large 
number  of  children  of  foreign-born  parents  in  your  schools.  If 
you  would  preserve  the  purity  of  the  English  tongue  in  Wiscon- 
sin, you  must  teach  speech  to  the  pupils  of  the  public  schools, 
and  this  involves  a  knowledge  of  the  mechanism  of  speech  on 
the  part  of  the  teachers.  Should  the  subject  of  the  mechanism 
of  speech  receive  attention  in  your  normal  schools,  there  will  be 
no  difficulty  in  selecting  from  the  students  persons  who  show^ 


PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  369 

special  natural  abilities  for  articulation  work,  to  become  the 
teachers  in  the  small  day  schools  for  deaf  children  to  be  estab- 
lished under  the  provisions  of  the  bill.  Let  the  bill  be  passed, 
and  a  demand  will  arise  for  the  schools.  This  will  create  a  de- 
mand for  teachers,  and  the  demand  will  lead  to  a  supply. 

The  promoters  of  this  bill  have  wisely  abstained  from  re- 
stricting in  any  way  the  methods  of  instruction  to  be  used  in 
the  schools.  The  measure  expresses  a  willingness  on  the  part 
of  the  state  to  accommodate  its  policy  to  the  wishes  of  the  par- 
ents of  deaf  children  to  retain  them  at  home ;  and,  in  pursu- 
ance of  this  spirit  of  accommodation,  the  bill  leaves  the  parents 
and  local  authorities  some  liberty  of  choice  regarding  methods 
of  instruction.  When  the  most  experienced  teachers  are  divided 
as  to  the  value  of  the  different  methods  of  instruction,  who  is 
competent  to  decide  ?  '  The  state  may  rest  assured,  that,  when 
the  interests  of  their  afflicted  children  are  at  stake,  the  parents 
will  be  apt  to  make  a  careful  choice.  The  state  is  secured 
against  rash  experiments  of  a  doubtful  nature  by  the  general 
control  to  be  exercised  over  all  the  schools  by  the  state  super- 
intendent and  the  state  board  of  supervision,  who  also  control 
the  operations  of  the  Delavan  institution.  By  this  provision 
also  the  harmonious  relations  of  the  small  day  schools  to  the 
central  institution  are  guaranteed. 

It  is  to  me  a  matter  of  regret  that  the  amount  of  the  state 
aid  should  have  been  limited  to  SI 00  per  annum  for  each  child 
instructed;  for  it  is  obvious  that  the  higher  the  limit  fixed  by 
the  state  the  more  will  it  be  possible  to  extend  the  benefits  of 
the  measure  into  the  smaller  centres  of  population.  To  my 
mind,  the  limit  should  ultimately  be  fixed  at  that  amount, 
whatever  it  may  be,  which  represents  the  average  per  capita 
cost  at  the  state  institution.  I  believe,  however,  that  the 
amount  of  $100  per  annum  is  sufficient  to  test  the  operations  of 
the  plan.  Experience  will  show  how  far  the  measure  fulfills  the 
expectations  of  its  promoters,  and  if  successful  the  state  can 
then  consider  what  fiirther  increase  of  state  aid  may  be  ad\ds- 
able  or  necessary. 

Each  centre  of  instruction,  established  under  the  pro  visions 
of  the  bill,  will  radiate  an  influence  into  the  surrounding 
country  districts,  and  tend  to  attract  into  the  schools  deaf-mutes 
from  these  districts.  In  this  way  many  deaf-mutes  in  rural  dis- 
tricts may  be  reached  whose  parents  would  object  to  send  their 
children  far  away  from  home  to  the  state  institution.  It  may 
also  be  possible,  under  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  to  establish  a 
school  in  an  incorporated  village  where  there  may  not  be  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  deaf  children  to  support  a  teacher,  by  collect- 
ing into  that  centre  a  sufficient  number  of  children  from  the 
surrounding  countr3^  The  nearer  the  school  approaches  to  the 
home  of  a  child  the  less  likelihood  is  there  that  he  will  escape 


370  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS  FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

instruction.  Little  by  little,  as  the  measure  is  put  into  opera- 
tion, new  centres  of  instruction  will  arise,  each  radiating  its 
influence  into  the  neighboring  places,  so  that  ultimately  the 
benefits  of  the  bill  will  reach  into  every  nook  and  corner  of 
the  state. 

The  multiplication  of  small  schools  upon  diverse  plans 
renders  it  possible  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country 
to  settle  by  a  natural  process  the  disputed  ))oints  concerning 
the  education  of  the  deaf.  A  single  state  school  with  an  estab- 
lished method  of  intruction,  like  an  established  religion,  tends 
to  intolerance.  A  number  of  small  schools  depending  for  life 
upon  the  results  produced  is  favorable  to  progress.  It  should 
be  the  duty  of  the  state  superintendent  and  state  board  of 
supervision  to  keep  careful  note  of  the  processes  employed  in 
the  various  schools  ;  and  it  should  also  be  their  duty  to  collect 
statistics  that  would  demonstrate  the  influence  of  the  methods 
of  instruction  upon  the  after  lives  of  the  pupils.  Then  we  may 
expect  progress,  and  the  state  of  Wisconsin  will  point  the  way 
for  the  other  states  to  follow. 

In  the  above  argument  I  have  attempted  to  show: 

1.  That  the  operation  of  the  bill  is  calculated  to  bring 
under  instruction  a  larger  number  of  the  uneducated  deaf  chil- 
dren of  the  state  than  would  be  possible  on  the  institution  plan. 

2.  That  their  instruction  may  be  commenced  at  an  earlier 
age  than  has  heretofore  been  practicable. 

3.  That  by  her  constitution  Wisconsin  is  pledged  to  offer 
the  benefits  of  education  to  all  her  children  between  the  ages  of 
four  and  twenty  years,  and  that  in  the  case  of  the  deaf  she  can- 
not fulfill  this  obligation,  excepting  upon  some  such  plan  as  that 
provided  for  in  the  bill. 

4.  That  the  conditions  created  by  the  bill  are  eminently 
favorable  to  the  cultivation  of  speech  and  speech  reading,  and 

5.  That  the  conditions  are  also  favorable  to  the  growth  of 
improvements  in  the  methods  of  instruction. 

In  conclusion  allow  me  to  express  my  earnest  and  heartfelt 
desire  that  you  may  see  fit  to  recommend  to  the  legislature  the 
passage  of  this  bill,  which,  in  my  opinion,  is  destined  to  confer 
untold  blessings  on  the  deaf  and  upon  society. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  yours  very  respectfully, 

Alexander  Graham  Bell. 

Although  the  legislature  hesitated  regarding  so  radical 
an  innovation,  the  bill  became  a  law  Marcli  31,  1885. 
Thus  originated  what  is  now  pointed  to  and  known  as  "the 
Wisconsin  system,"  considered  a  model  for  other  states  in 
providing  for  the  education  of  deaf-mutes. 


PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  371 

MISS    DAISY    WAY  AND  HER  MOTHER. 

These  two  ladies  greatly  assisted  the  phonological  in- 
stitute in  advancing  its  objects  and  most  opportunely  in 
securing  the  passage  of  the  law  that  has  placed  Wisconsin  in 
advance  of  other  states  in  the  education  of  deaf-mutes. 

Sickness  deprived  Miss  Way  of  hearing  at  the  age  of  five 
years  and  with  it  she  lost  her  speech.  She  was  an  only  and 
very  bright  and  beautiful  child.  He  mother  went  with  her 
to  Mystic,  Connecticut,  where  she  was  placed  in  the  Whipple 
school  of  articulation  for  the  deaf. 

At  the  end  of  one  year  she  returned  to  her  home  in  Cres- 
ton,  Iowa,  under  a  private  teacher  of  articulation  a  year, 
after  which  she  was  taught  by  her  mother.  She  entered  the 
public  school  in  classes  with  hearing  children,  successfully 
completed  the  course  and  graduated  with  honor  from  the 
high  school,  reading  in  public  an  original  essay. 

Her  father  having  lost  his  property  and  health,  it  was 
necessary  for  her  to  fit  herself  for  self-support.  With  this 
object  in  view  she  came  to  Milwaukee  to  take  a  course  in  a 
business  college,  which  she  accomplished  with  marked  suc- 
cess, and  soon  thereafter  accepted  a  responsible  position  in  a 
large  financial  institution  in  Kansas  City,  which  she  still 
occupies. 

Miss  Way  and  her  mother  spent  the  winter  of  1884-5  in 
Milwaukee  at  a  time  when  such  intelligent,  accomplished  and 
enthusiastic  representatives  of  the  oral  method  were  most 
needed. 

They  immediately  became  a  center  of  attraction  and 
around  them  gathered  not  only  the  large  circle  comprised  in 
the  phonological  institute  and  ladies'  auxiliary  society,  but 
many  others. 

Miss  Way's  winning  manner  and  interesting  conversa- 
tion drew  about  her  the  most  cultivated  people,  and  she  be- 
came a  social  favorite.  Both  she  and  her  mother  were  so 
deeply  interested  in  favor  of  the  oral  method  of  educating 
the  deaf,  that  they  were  more  than  anxious  to  lend  their  aid 
for  its  advancement.  While  in  Milwaukee  her  frequent 
visits  to  the  day  school  for  the  oral  instruction  of  the  deaf 
were  a  source  of  encouragement  and  inspiration.  They 
thoroughly  believed  in  small  day  schools  for  the  oral  in- 
struction of  the  deaf,  and  in  this  behalf  they  went  to  Madison 
to  urge  the  passage  of  the  bill  providing  for  day  schools  for 
the  deaf  in  incorporated  cities  and  villages  as  a  part  of  the 


372  PUBLIC   DAY   SCAOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

public  school  system.  In  her  own  person,  Miss  Way  was  an 
excellent  example  of  the  benefit  that  might  be  expected 
from  such  a  measure,  both  to  pupils  and  teachers. 

The  presence  of  Miss  Way  and  her  mother  in  Madison 
was  announced,  and  members  of  the  legislature,  friends  of 
education  and  citizens  called  upon  them.  Miss  Way's  fluent 
speech,  intelligence  and  grace  surprised  and  captivated  legis- 
lators and  others,  and  so  many  hearts  were  touched  and 
minds  opened  that  it  became  comparatively  easy  to  get  the 
merits  of  the  bill  for  the  day  schools  for  the  deaf  considered. 
Miss  Way  and  her  mother  had  helped  to  prepare  the  way  for 
Prof.  Alexander  Graham  Bell  and  his  powerful  advocacy  of 
the  measure,  the  adoption  of  which  has  already  done  much 
for  the  benefit  of  the  deaf-mutes  of  Wisconsin  and  is  des- 
tined to  confer  untold  blessings  upon  such  children  in  other 
states  as  well,  for  whose  education  and  prospects  in  life  it 
marks  a  new  and  better  era  in  the  progress  of  deaf-mute 
education. 

STATISTICS  OP  DAY  SCHOOLS. 

There  are  now  in  operation  in  Wisconsin  three  public 
day  schools  for  the  deaf,  all  by  the  oral  method,  located  as 
follows  : 

One  in  Milwaukee,  with  forty-two  pupils,  a  principal 
and  five  class  teachers  assisted  by  five  normal  students.  One 
in  Wausau,  with  five  pupils  and  one  teacher.  One  in  La 
Crosse,  with  eight  pupils  and  one  teacher.  Total  number  of 
pupils  fifty-five. 

Steps  are  being  taken  to  establish  an  oral  public  day 
school  in  Manitowoc.  In  view  of  the  special  qualifications 
required  and  the  exhausting  character  of  the  work,  the  Mil- 
waukee school  board  pays  teachers  in  the  oral  school  for  the 
deaf  $100  per  annum  more  than  it  pays  class  teachers  of  hear- 
ing children. 

The  same  course  of  studies  is  pursued  in  the  school  for 
the  deaf  as  in  hearing  schools. 

By  the  rules  of  the  board  ten  pupils  constitute  the  mini- 
mum for  a  class,  but  experience  has  shown  that  the  number 
is  too  large,  and  that  classes  of  five  are  large  enough  when 
taught  by  the  oral  method  and  that  smaller  classes  are 
preferable. 

NORMAL   DEPARTMENT. 

The  normal  department  of  the  Wisconsin  phonological 
institute  has  trained  twenty-two  teachers  by  the  oral  method. 


PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  373 

They  have  come  from  various  parts  of  the  country,  as  fol- 
lows: Milwaukee  9,  Chicago  1,  Iowa  1,  Boston,  Mass.,  J, 
Portland,  Me.,  1,  New  York  state  2,  New  York  city  1,  West 
Virginia  1,  Wausau,  Wis.,  2,  Washington  county.  Wis.,  1, 
La  Crosse,  Wis.,  1.,  Canada  1.  Eight  had  taught  in  hearing 
schools  before  entering  this  work,  and  one  had  taught  six 
years  in  a  day  school  lor  the  oral  instruction  of  the  deaf. 

GRADUATES. 

Graduates  from  the  day  school  for  the  deaf  in  Milwau- 
kee, have  experienced  little  diflficulty  in  finding  opportuni- 
ties to  learn  such  trades  as  they  prefer.  One  has  entered  the 
public  high  school  in  classes  with  hearing  pupils,  and  one  is 
pursuing  a  course  in  a  business  college  with  the  intention  of 
taking  charge  of  her  father's  books  and  counting-room  in  a 
large  manufacturing  business.  They  are  excellent  lip  read- 
ers and  speak  quite  well,  although  one  has  a  partial  facial 
paralysis  and  the  other  suffers  from  catarrhal  troubles  that 
aflfect  her  speech.     They  are  both  semi-mutes. 

PREPARATION   OF   TEXT-BOOKS. 

The  need  of  text-books  and  manuals  for  students  and 
teachers  of  articulation  has  received  the  attention  of  the 
phonological  institute.  To  supply  that  want  they  engaged 
the  services  of  Prof.  Paul  Binner,  who  began  several  years 
ago  the  preparation  of  works  on  the  "  Anatomy  of  the  Or- 
gans of  Speech,"  **  Physiology  of  the  Elements  of  Speech  " 
and  "  Special  Pedagogy  for  Teachers  of  the  Deaf.'' 

These  works,  in  manuscript,  comprising  the  lectures  of 
Prof.  Binner  to  the  normal  students,  have  been  in  use  in  the 
normal  department  of  the  institute  some  time  experiment- 
ally and  proved  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  intended. 

The  publication  of  these  books  was  delayed  until  a  con- 
venient time  for  the  institute  to  defray  the  expense,  as  pub- 
lishers could  not  be  obtained  on  account  of  the  probable 
small  demand. 

The  manuscripts  were,  during  the  past  summer,  put  in 
the  hands  of  leading  oralists  for  examination. 

During  the  progress  of  the  examination  they  found  that 
Dr.  Thomas  Arnold,  of  the  oral  school  for  the  deaf,  North 
Hampton,  England,  had  recently  published  a  book  covering 
much  the  same  ground  in  such  a  manner  as  they  then 
thought  rendered  the  publication  of  Prof.  Binner's  books 
unnecessary. 


374  PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES. 

From  the  preface  of  Dr.  Arnold's  book  it  appears  that  it 
was  suggested  in  1886,  while  Prof.  Biuner  began  his  work 
much  earlier. 

It  thus  appears  that  Prof.  Paul  Binner  in  America  and 
Dr.  Thomas  Arnold  in  England,  were  each  working  inde- 
pendently along  the  same  lines  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
other. 

From  a  more  thorough  comparison  of  Dr.  Arnold's  book 
with  Prof.  Binner's  manuscript  it  appears  that  the  former 
does  not  adequately  supply  the  place  of  the  latter,  which  will 
probably  be  published  before  long.  This  again  adds  to  the 
honor  of  Wisconsin  in  the  line  of  progress  in  the  education 
of  deaf-mutes. 

PLEDGES  FULFILLED. 

When  the  Wisconsin  phonological  institute  engaged  the 
attention  of  the  Milwaukee  school  board  and  the  state  legis- 
lature in  behalf  of  its  objects  it  voluntarily  pledged  itselt  to 
use  its  best  endeavors  to  supply  trained  teachers  by  the  oral 
method,  and  to  be  watchful  of  the  day  schools.  Tliis  obliga- 
tion has  not  been  neglected. 

In  prosecuting  the  work  which  it  has  assumed  it  has 
spared  no  effort,  been  deterred  by  no  obstacle,  faltered  at  no 
discouragement,  but  has  given  freely  of  its  time,  abilit}''  and 
means  for  the  good  of  the  cause  and  the  advancement  of  the 
state  in  this  direction. 

Its  money  expenditures  aggregate  about  $15,000,  con- 
sisting mostly  of  contributions  from  citizens  of  Milwaukee. 

A    DUTY    OF    THE   STATE. 

It  will  not  be  denied  that  the  duty  of  the  state  to  pro- 
vide for  the  training  of  teachers  for  the  oral  instruction  of 
deaf-mutes  is  no  less  binding  and  imperative  than  is  its  duty 
to  provide  for  training  teachers  of  hearing  children. 

For  the  latter  it  has  to  some  extent  provided,  but  not 
adequately.  For  the  former  it  has  made  no  special  provis- 
ion. To  meet  this  obligation,  however,  will  be  easy  and 
inexpensive  for  the  state  in  connection  with  the  state  normal 
school  at  Milwaukee  and  by  joint  arrangement  with  the 
Milwaukee  school  board,  securing  the  services  of  the  teachers 
in  the  public  day  school  for  the  deaf  and  the  use  of  that 
school  for  practice  work. 

CATHOLIC  SCHOOL  FOR  DEAF-MUTES. 

This  sketch  of  progress  in  Wisconsin  in  the  education 
of  deaf-mutes  would  be  incomplete  did  it  omit  to  mention 


PUBLIC   DAY   SCHOOLS   FOR   DEAF   MUTES.  375 

the  school  estabHshed  and  maintained  for  that  purpose 
by  the  Catholic  church  at  St.  Francis,  a  beautiful  southern 
suburb  of  Milwaukee. 

Among  a  most  interesting  cluster  of  Catholic  educa- 
tional reformatory  and  ecclesiastical  schools  and  institutions 
at  St.  Francis  is  one  for  the  deaf-mutes,  under  the  charge  of 
Rev.  M.  M.  Gerend  assisted  by  Catholic  sisters. 

At  one  time  this  school  was  taught  by  the  oral  method, 
but  was  changed  to  a  sign  school  for  lack  of  time  to  develop 
speech. 

A  feature  of  special  interest  in  this  school  is  the  atten- 
tion given  to  carving,  drawing  and  cabinet  work,  in  which 
the  pupils  excel.  Specimens  of  their  work  in  altar  pieces, 
shown  at  the  Milwaukee  exposition,  were  marked  by  a  high 
order  of  skill.  For  such  work  the  services  of  its  pupils  are 
in  demand  and  command  good  wages. 

It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  school  was  established  and 
is  maintained  in  pursuance  of  the  policy  of  the  Roman 
Catliolic  church,  based  on  the  opinion  that  the  best  way  to 
make  good  men  and  citizens  and  save  their  souls  is  to  com- 
bine religious  with  secular  education  in  the  same   school. 

It  is,  however,  deplored  that  in  view  of  the  noble  ser- 
vices rendered  to  the  cause  of  oral  instruction  of  deaf-mutes 
by  the  Roman  Catholic  church  and  its  representatives,  that 
in  .Wisconsin  it  should  neglect  the  spiritual  advantages  of 
speech  in  the  education  of  its  deaf-mute  children.  It  is,  to 
say  the  least,  extremely  doubtful  if  so  grave  a  consideration 
as  this  should  be  made  secondary  to  skill  in  handicraft, 
however  valuable  that  may  be,  and  doubtless  is,  to  the 
community. 

R.  C.  Spencer. 


SPECIAL  FORMS  AND  AGENCIES  OF  EDUCATION. 


Wisconsin  Farmers'  Institutes. 


Education  in  the  United  States  is  constantly  taking 
more  so-called  practical  turns.  High  schools,  academies, 
colleges  and  universities  are  changing  and  broadening 
their  curricula,  to  give  not  only  mental  culture,  but  an 
equipment  of  knowledge  in  the  principles  and  technicalities 
of  business  life.  The  mechanic,  as  well  as  the  lawyer,  learns 
something  of  his  business  in  the  schools,  and  the  student  of 
agriculture  is  taking  his  place  with  the  readers  of  Latin 
verse  and  Greek  philosophy.  Our  educational  system  is 
enclosed  in  rubber  bands  of  modern  practical  judgment, 
rather  than  in  the  iron  handcuffs  of  ancient  superstitions. 
It  is  becoming  elastic  enough  for  the  diversified  tastes,  tal- 
ents and  needs  of  men.  It  is  meeting  the  remarkable  pro- 
gress of  the  last  fifty  years  in  agriculture  with  a  strong, 
helping  hand.  We  have  departments  of  agriculture  in  our 
universities,  colleges  of  agriculture  and  farmers'  institutes. 

The  institutes  are  the  product  of  recent  years.  In 
Wisconsin  they  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  work  of  the 
state  dairymen's  association,  and  the  annual  conventions 
of  the  state  agricultural  society.  Honorable  C.  E.  Estabrook, 
listening  to  an  address  upon  farm  topics  by  the  late  Hiram 
Smith,  became  impressed  with  the  value  of  plain  talks  upon 
farm  topics  by  practical  men.  At  the  legislative  session  of 
1885  he  secured  the  enactment  of  the  following  law,  drawn 
and  introduced  by  him  : 

Section  1.  The  board  of  regents  of  the  state  university  is 
hereby  authorized  to  hold  institutes  for  the  instruction  of  citizens 
of  this  state  in  the  various  branches  of  agriculture.  Such  in- 
stitutes shall  be  held  at  such  times  in  the  months  of  November, 
December,  January,  February,  March  and  April  in  each  year, 
and  at  such  places  as  said  board  may  direct.  The  said  board 
shall  make  such  rules  and  regulations  as  it  may  deem  proper  for 
organizing  and  conducting  such  institutes,  and  may  employ  an 
agent  or  agents  to  perform  such  work  in  connection  therewith  as 
they  deem  best.  The  course  of  instruction  at  such  institutes 
shall  be  so  arranged  as  to  present  to  those  in  attendance  the  re- 
sults of  the  most  recent  investigations  in  theoretical  and  prac- 
tical agriculture. 

Section  2.  For  the  purposes  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
section,  the  said  board  may  use  such  sum  as  they  may  deem 

878 


WISCONSIN   farmers'   INSTITUTES.  379 

proper,  not  exceeding  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  in  any 
one  year,  from  the  general  fund,  and  such  amount  is  hereby  an- 
nually appropriated  for  that  purpose. 

In  1887  this  act  was  amended  by  an  increase  of  the  apv- 
propriation  to  $12,000  per  annum.  The  warmest  friends  of 
the  law  had  no  conception  of  the  remarkable  benefits  to  the 
state  which  would  result  from  it.  The  management  of  the 
$12,000  annually  appropriated  was  wisely  left  in  the  haned 
of  the  regents  of  the  state  university.  Tliis  was  done  to  keep 
the  machinery  of  the  institutes  beyond  the  reach  of  politial 
manipulation.  The  appropriation  was  not  deemed  in  any 
sense  a  gift  to  the  university,  but  an  outside  addition  to  the 
labors  and  responsibilities  of  the  regents  of  that  institution. 
The  board  had  uniformly  delegated  its  authority  in  this 
matter  to  the  agricultural  committee,  composed  of  three  of  its 
members. 

It  has  been  carried  on  from  tlie  beginning  without  ma- 
terial change  except  in  the  employment  of  lecturers  and  en- 
largement. Two  things  were  necessary,  the  first  to  make  the 
institutes  valuable,  the  second  to  make  them  popular.  In 
securing  the  first  the  geography  of  the  state  was  looked  over 
and  the  varying  farm  interests  of  the  different  sections  care 
fully  studied.  Institutes  were  located  at  accessible  points, 
and  fairly  apportioned  to  the  agricultural  counties.  Some  of 
the  brightest  men  of  the  state  were  called  into  the  service, 
and  divided  into  two  corps  of  workers,  in  order  that  two  in- 
stitutes might  be  in  operation  at  the  same  time.  The 
present  winter  four  institutes  are  held  in  different  parts  of 
the  state  at  the  same  time.  The  aim  has  been  from  the 
commencement  to  make  them  both  entertaining  and  instruc- 
tive. All  topics  of  a  political  character  have  been  rigorously 
excluded.  It  was  assumed  that  the  institute  appropriation 
was  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  farmers'  schools,  where 
they  should  be  taught  definite  things  about  their  business 
without  bringing  in  the  disturbing  elements  of  political 
or  religious  discussion.  Each  institute  consisted  of  five 
sessions,  including  an  evening  session.  The  sessions 
varied  in  length  from  three  to  four  hours.  The  reading  of 
long  and  elaborate  dissertations  was  discouraged.  Brief, 
plain,  pointed  talks  from  the  regular  corps  of  workers  were 
required.  Sky-scraping  oratory  and  glittering  generalities 
were  at  a  discount,  and  the  clearly  defined  facts  of  experience 
at  a  premium.     There  was  a  constant  pressure  of  encourage- 


380  WISCONSIN  farmers'  institutes. 

ment  for  discussion.  Every  effort  was  made  to  bring  farmers 
to  their  feet  and  draw  from  them  their  knowledge  by  which 
all  could  profit. 

Many  distinguished  men  from  other  states  were  em- 
ployed as  lecturers  during  the  first  two  years.  Professor 
Robertson,  of  Canada,  brought  the  resources  of  a  splendidly 
equipped  mind,  a  broad  experience,  a  simplicity  of  statement 
remarkable  for  strength  and  clearness,  to  supplement  the 
original  thought  and  profound  scholarship  of  Dr.  Manly 
Miles,  of  Michigan.  Dr.  Grange,  of  the  Michigan  agricul- 
tural college,  taught  veterinary  science  with  charts,  in  a  way 
that  the  farmers  could  understand.  Professor  Cook  and 
Chas.  W.  Garfield,  from  the  same  state,  added  new  interest 
and  increased  profits  to  the  study  of  horticulture  ;  and  Pro- 
fessor Roberts,  of  Cornell  university,  preached  the  gospel  of 
regeneration  for  Wisconsin  soils  with  great  force  and  effect- 
iveness. T.  B.  Terry,  of  Ohio,  one  of  the  best  agricultural 
writers  in  America,  delivered  addresses  upon  general  farm 
topics  and  home  life,  which  displayed  not  only  the  richness 
of  generous  mental  culture,  but  the  greater  richness  of  a 
"saving  common  sense.".  John  Gould,  of  the  same  state, 
made  tens  of  thousands  of  friends  for  himself  and  the  insti- 
tute by  his  genial  and  pungent  wit,  his  heartfelt  sympathy 
with  the  farming  interests,  and  his  clear  understanding  of 
how  dairy  questions  should  be  put  to  the  farmers  to  hold 
their  attention  and  reform  their  judgment.  Many  other 
gentlemen,  strong  in  special  lines  of  agricultural  knowledge^ 
were  drawn  from  other  states  to  make  the  institutes  attrac- 
tive, strong  and  helpful — W.  I.  Chamberlin  and  Waldo  F. 
Brown,  of  Ohio,  J.  H.  Hale,  of  Connecticut,  President  Wm. 
Brown  and  McPherson,  of  Canada. 

Among  the  Wisconsin  men  who  gave  practical  value  to 
the  institutes  was  the  Hon.  Hiram  Smith,  whose  monu- 
ment stands  in  the  dairy  school  of  the  state  university.  In 
all  the  years  of  his  service  as  a  regent  of  that  institution  he 
not  only  gave  the  best  counsel  and  support  to  the  institutes, 
but  rendered,  without  compensation,  most  effective  service 
upon  the  institute  platform.  He  worked  out  the  problems 
of  the  dairy  business  on  his  own  farm  and  backed  his  de- 
fense of  modern  methods  and  a  more  scientific  agriculture 
with  definite  details  of  actual  results.  The  farmers  trusted 
and  believed  in  him  as  a  teacher,  because  of  his  uncompro- 
mising honesty  of  judgment  and  his  closeness  to  them  in  life- 
and  sympathies. 


WISCONSIN   farmers'   INSTITUTES.  381 

W.  D.  Hoard  was  another  of  the  distinguished  pioneers 
in  the  institute  work,  and  did  remarkable  service  in  laying 
broad  and  deep  its  foundations.  The  editor  of  the  leading 
dairy  paper  in  the  West,  an  enthusiastic  student  of  all  the 
questions  involved  in  agricultural  progress,  with  fine  pow- 
ers of  analysis  and  discrimination,  with  the  courage  of  his  con- 
victions, and  a  talent  of  persuasive  oratory,  brightened  by 
native  wit  and  enriched  with  pregnant  thought  and  illustra- 
tion, he  stirred  the  dormant  faculties  of  thousands  of  Wis- 
consin's farmers  to  new  life,  and  gave  not  only  great  prac- 
tical value  to  the  institute  work,  but  gave  it  a  peculiar 
charm  and  a  widespread  popularity. 

No  record  of  the  early  history  of  Wisconsin  farmers' 
institutes  would  be  complete  without  reference  to  the  work 
of  Prof.  W.  A.  Henry,  of  the  state  university.  From  the  be- 
ginning he  saw  in  the  institutes  an  unlimited  and  fruitful 
field  for  labor.  He  saw  the  opportunity  which  they  gave  to 
popularize  the  study  of  agriculture  as  an  art.  He  saw  in 
them  a  means  of  bringing  the  university  closer  to  the  peo- 
ple. From  the  institute  platform  lie  addressed  the  farmers 
of  every  agricultural  county  in  the  state.  His  earnestness, 
his  evident  love  of  his  work,  his  freedom  from  any  pride  of 
opinion,  his  conservative  judgment,  his  strong  equipment  of 
definite  knowledge,  his  unbounded  faith  in  the  capacity  of 
the  average  farmer  for  development,  his  intense  loyalt}^  and 
love  of  the  agricultural  interest,  his  talent  ior  putting  the 
meat  of  modern  knowledge  in  form  for  popular  digestion, 
enabled  him  to  sweep  away  many  prejudices  against  "  book 
learning"  and  college  professors,  and  to  aid  greatly  in 
making  the  Wisconsin  farmer  a  more  self-respecting  and 
successful  business  man. 

Other  gentlemen  with  distinctive  talents  aided  materi- 
ally in  the  effectiveness  of  the  institute  work.  C.  R.  Beach, 
Theodore  Louis,  H.  C.  Adams,  J.  M.  Smith,  C.  P.  Goodrich, 
George  McKerrow,  George  Wylie,  and  a  host  of  others  have 
been  developed  by  the  work,  and  their  names  are  spoken 
with  thankfulness  and  pride  in  thousands  of  Wisconsin 
homes,  and  many  have  rendered  efficient  service  in  other 
states. 

Prof.  Robertson,  of  Canada,  who  had  studied  the  agri- 
culture of  the  leading  nations  of  Europe,  stated  that  he 
never  met  in  the  fields  of  agricultural  education  so  able  a 
body  of  men  as  the  institute  workers  of  Wisconsin.  The 
institutes  were   popularized   by   systematic    and   ingenious 


382  WISCONSIN  farmers'  institutes. 

advertising.  In  the  beginning  they  were  looked  upon  with 
indifference  and  suspicion  by  the  majority  of  the  farming 
population.  If  conservatism  is  rock-rooted  anywhere,  it  is 
in  the  rural  districts.  The  institute  worker  was  charged 
with  being  made  up  of  visionary  theories.  A  tasty  business 
suit,  clean  linen  and  polished  boots  condemned  him  as  no 
farmer.  The  isolation  of  the  farmer  is  fatal  to  liberality  or 
progress,  and  every  young  farmer  who  has  aspirations  for 
better  methods,  better  stock,  is  censured,  criticized  and 
pulled  down.  If  every  school  district  could  have  its 
monthly  farmers'  club  meeting  at  each  other's  homes  it 
would  accomplish  wonders  in  elevating  the  social  and 
material  prosperity  of  rural  neighborhoods. 

The  quickest  and  warmest  sympathizers  of  the  institute 
work  were  found  among  the  professional  and  business  men 
of  the  state.  Lists  were  secured  of  these  and  of  farmers 
within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  of  each  institute,  and  per- 
sonal invitations  sent  to  five  hundred  persons,  representing 
all  lines  of  business,  tAvo  weeks  in  advance  of  each  meeting. 
A  sample  of  the  advertising  is  contained  in  the  appendix  to 
this  paper.  The  points  were  printed  on  cards  and  mailed 
with  circular  letters  and  programmes  to  tens  of  thousands  of 
farmers'  homes.  Clergymen  were  requested  to  announce 
the  institute  from  their  respective  pulpits.  Teachers  were 
asked  to  prepare  and  conduct  the  evening  session  with  their 
schools.  The  local  press  was  induced  to  give  generous  ad- 
vertising. The  leading  dailies  of  Milwaukee  sent  corre- 
spondents with  the  institutes  and  gave  their  proceedings  a 
wide  publicity.  The  evening  sessions  were  largely  devoted 
to  educational  and  home  topics,  and  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren of  all  classes  thronged  the  meetings.  Prejudice  against 
the  institutes  began  to  disappear  in  the  light  of  their  suc- 
cessful work.  Men  came  to  criticize  and  went  away  to  think. 
Cranks  were  sent  to  the  rear,  and  men  who  were  a  success 
upon  the  farm  and  knew  things  were  brought  to  the  front. 
The  men  with  baseless  theories  found  the  institutes  an  ene- 
my's camp.  The  man  with  facts  and  sound  reasons  found 
warm  appreciation,  whether  he  had  the  polish  of  the  schools 
or  the  plain  accomplishments  of  the  farm.  The  standard 
of  knowledge  was  not  only  raised,  but  love  and  respect  for 
farming  strengthened.  The  doctrine  was  steadily  taught 
that  sufficient  power  lay  in  the  farmer  himself  to  bring 
profit  and  dignity  to  his  life  and  business,  and  that  farm- 
ers,  as  a  class,  would  never  gain  power  or  respect  in  busi- 


WISCONSIN   farmers'   INSTITUTES.  383 

ness,  social  or  political  life  by  simply  denouncing  other  in- 
terests and  classes.  The  institutes  became  educational  in 
many  ways.  The  most  successful  farmers  in  the  state  are 
employed  as  speakers  to  give  their  experience.  The  pro- 
grammes are  meaty  and  practical,  and  are  formulated  entirely 
with  the  view  of  better  farming,  better  stock,  better  homes, 
better  schools  and  a  broader  social  life  for  the  farmer  and 
his  family. 

The  institutes  are  held  in  small  towns  and  cities,  often 
eight  miles  back  in  the  country,  away  from  railways.  In 
many  instances  one-half  the  attendance  is  composed  of 
townspeople.  Farmers,  professional  and  business  men  are 
brought  into  closer  relation,  the  proceedings  interest  them 
and  broaden  their  judgment  of  the  possibilities  of  farm  life. 
Children  from  the  public  schools  are  often  interested  listen- 
ers. The  idea  that  farming  was  a  business  for  brain  as  well 
as  muscle  received  new  lodgment  in  city  residence  as  well 
as  country  home.  The  merchants  of  the  state  have  be- 
come almost  a  unit  in  the  support  of  the  institute  work. 
With  intelligent  selfishness  they  see  in  it  a  means  of  making 
richer  and  more  prosperous  farmers,  better  customers  and 
more  public-spirited  citizens.  Out  of  the  addresses  and 
discussions  came  a  universal  familiarity  with  the  alphabet 
of  the  sciences  which  make  up  agriculture.  The  word 
nitrogen  began  to  mean  something  to  the  average  farmer. 
Tlie  microbe  dropped  from  an  elephant  of  the  imagination 
to  a  tiny  manufacturer  of  fertile  soils.  The  farmers'  boys 
began  to  know  something  about  carbohydrates  and  phos- 
phates. Farm  life  began  to  take  on  a  new  charm  when  il- 
luminated with  scientific  knowledge  and  healthful  senti- 
ment. 

The  institutes  give  good  training  in  debate.  They 
teach  farmers  to  think  and  express  themselves  upon  their 
feet.  The  hesitation  of  farmers  to  talk  in  public  is  beginning 
to  disappear  because  of  the  easy  opportunities  aflbrded  by 
these  meetings.  They  are  rapidly  learning  that  when  a  man 
has  anything  to  say,  he  can  interest  an  audience  even  if  his 
grammar  or  clothing  is  a  little  awry.  The  institutes 
have  done  good  service  in  turning  the  light  of  discussion 
upon  the  domestic  side  of  farm  life.  The  talks  about  cook- 
ing, about  household  conveniences,  about  family  govern- 
ment, about  the  recreation  needed  by  the  hard-worked 
farmers'  wives  and  their  children,  about  social  obligations, 
about  the  educational  influences  which  can  be  brought  into 


384  WISCONSIN  farmers'  institutes. 

every  farmer's  home  through  newspapers,  magazines,  books, 
music,  and  a  thorough  study  of  the  real  refinements  of  life, 
have  borne  their  fruits  in  many  a  farmer's  home. 

But  the  institute  work,  as  it  has  been  done  and  as  it  is 
being  done  in  Wisconsin,  will  be  measured  in  tlie  public 
judgment — whether  properly  or  not — by  its  value  to  the 
state  in  dollars  and  cents.  When  an  annual  appropriation 
of  S12,000  was  made  for  them  by  the  state  legislature,  it  was 
done  in  deference  to  no  sentimentality,  but  to  make  an  in- 
vestment of  that  amount  of  raonej^  in  an  undertaking  to  in- 
crease the  wealth  of  the  state,  to  increase  its  taxable  property 
and  thereby  its  revenues.  It  was  a  plain  business  proceed- 
ing, like  a  purchase  of  government  bonds,  and  it  has  paid 
great  dividends.  The  agriculture  of  every  state  and  country 
on  the  globe  is  capable  of  improvement.  Wisconsin  is  no 
exception.  The  native  richness  of  her  soils  had  been  sold  off, 
as  Theodore  Louis  once  remarked,  in  the  half  bushel.  The 
average  wheat  yield  of  the  state  had  dropped  to  ten  or  twelve 
bushels  per  acre  against  a  yield  of  twenty-eight  bushels  in 
England.  The  profits  of  the  farm  are  dependent  upon 
thoughtful,  intelligent  management.  The  institute  appro- 
priation was  made  to  stimulate  and  enrich  the  farm  mind  of 
the  state  and  so  raise  the  average  of  production.  It  operated 
to  bring  the  wisdom  and  practices  of  the  successful  farmer 
home  to  the  comprehension  of  his  less  thrifty  neighbor. 

The  following  topics  treated  in  the  institutes  are  given 
to  indicate  the  character  and  tendency  of  the  work :  Mak- 
ing, Saving  and  Applying  Composts. — How  Shall  We  Re- 
store the  Fertility  of  the  Farm  ? — Green  Manures. — The 
Manurial  Value  of  Different  Kinds  of  Feed. — Clover  as  a 
Fertilizer. — Animal  Husbandry  Conduces  to  Rich,  Produc- 
tive Soil. — Plowing  and  Cultivation. — Thorough  Tillage. — 
Deep  Cultivation  and  Surface  Cultivation. — Clover  and 
Grasses. — Pastures  and  Meadows. — Blue  Grass. — Feed 
Rations. — Oats  and  Peas. — Grain  Raising. — Clover  Hay 
Making. — Corn  Culture. — The  Importance  of  Good  Seed. — 
Noxious  Weeds. — Soil  Preparation  and  Planting  of  Potatoes. 
— Cultivation  of  the  Potato  Crop. — Harvesting  and  Storing 
Potatoes. — The  Bordeaux  Mixture  for  Potato  Blight. — Corn 
Growing. — The  Silo. — Best  Forage  Crop  for  Silage. — The 
Farmers'  Garden. — Small  Fruit  Culture. — Orcharding. — 
Cooking  Demonstration. — Domestic  Economy. — Literature 
in  the  Farmer's  Family. — Rural  Architecture. — The  Home. 
— How  Shall  We  Improve  Our  Country  Roads  ? — Shall  We 


WISCONSIN   farmers'    INSTITUTES.  385 

Have  Pure  Food? — Swine  Husbandry. — Feeding  for  Lean 
Meat. — Early  Maturity. — Sheep  Husbandry. — Management 
of  the  Breeding  Flock. — Mutton  Sheep  in  Wisconsin. — 
Crops  to  Grow  for  Sheep. — Winter  Lamb  Raising. — Selection 
and  Breeding  for  the  Dairy. — How  I  Feed  Dairy  Cows. — 
How  to  Avoid  Losses  of  Butter  Fat  in  Butter  Making. — Co- 
operative Creameries. — Butter  Making  on  the  Farm. — Cheese 
Making. — The  Separator  for  the  Farm. — Pig  Pens. — Con- 
struction of  the  Cow  Stable. — Ventilation  and  Sunlight  in 
our  Stables. — Construction  of  Stable  Floors  to  Save  the 
Liquid  Manures. — The  Most  Profitable  Horse  for  the  Farmer 
to  Raise. — Beef  Production. — Poultry  on  the  Farm,  etc.,  etc. 
Every  phase  of  rural  economy  receives  attention. 

The  consideration  of  these  subjects,  ably  presented  to 
tens  of  thousands  of  farmers,  could  not  fail  to  raise  the  aver- 
age of  knowledge  and  of  farm  revenues.  Breeders  of  pure 
bred  cattle  stated  that  increased  demands  for  their  stock 
followed  the  path  of  the  institutes,  and  it  is  a  notorious  fact 
that  the  grade  of  Wisconsin  butter  lias  been  raised  at  least 
twenty  per  cent,  during  the  last*  five  years.  Merchants  in 
the  towns  where  institutes  have  been  held,  state  in  some 
cases  that  the  average  quality  has  been  improved  one  hun- 
dred per  cent.  The  value  of  the  butter  product  of  the  state 
is  at  least  $8,000,000  per  year.  If  the  institutes  were  to  be 
credited  with  only  one-tenth  of  this  increase,  an  absurdly 
low  estimate,  they  would  have  added  to  the  annual  value  of 
the  butter  product  alone  $80,000,  or  enough  to  pay  the  state 
appropriation  for  their  support  for  six  years.  The  change 
from  exhaustive  grain-raising  to  the  dairy  business  in  some 
counties  has  produced  wonderful  results.  One  county  at 
the  commencement  of  the  institutes,  eight  years  ago,  reported 
one  creamery,  just  built.  The  dairy  product  from  that 
county  the  past  year  gave  a  revenue  to  its  farmers  of  over 
$500,000.  The  loss  to  the  state  through  injudicious  hand- 
ling of  manures  has  been  estimated  by  Prof.  Roberts  and 
others  at  $12,000,000  per  year.  The  institutes  have  helped 
stop  a  proportion  of  the  waste  large  enough  to  pay  its  cost 
for  forty  years.  In  the  improvement  of  stock,  in  its  care,  in 
the  renovation  of  soils  and  the  better  handling  of  products, 
they  have  done  a  work  wonderfully  rich  in  its  financial 
fruitage.  The  present  winter  one  hundred  institutes  are 
being  held,  and  the  improvement  of  country  roads  is  being 
discussed.  Mutton  sheep  production  is  receiving  marked 
attention.     At  present  we  only  have   800,000   sheep  in  the 


386  WISCONSIN  farmers'  institutes. 

entire  state.  Scotland  with  no  larger  area  than  ours  has 
8,000,000.  With  such  large  cities  as  Chicago,  Milwaukee, 
Si.  Paul  and  Minneapolis  to  supply,  the  production  of  first- 
class  mutton  sheep  will  prove  very  remunerative. 

The  practical  workings  of  the  institutes  have  been 
peculiarly  desirable  in  one  respect.  They  have  been  help- 
ful to  all  other  forms  and  kinds  of  agricultural  education; 
to  the  agricultural  press,  to  the  agricultural  societies,  to  the 
granges  and  farmers'  clubs,  and  especially  to  the  agricul- 
tural department  of  the  state  university.  Not  only  in  these 
ways,  but  through  a  wide  distribution  of  the  definite  knowl- 
edge of  the  experiment  station,  they  have  helped  all  the 
organized  agencies  which  help  the  farmer. 

The  cream  of  the  institutes  of  each  year  is  published  in 
a  bulletin  containing  several  hundred  pages  of  concise  dis- 
cussion of  leading  topics.  Six  numbers  have  been  published. 
Each  one  records  the  best  of  the  year's  work.  One  hundred 
and  ninety  thousand  copies  have  been  issued,  the  great 
expense  incurred  being  paid  for  by  advertisers.  The  bul- 
letins of  the  preceding  year  are  distributed  free  at  each  insti- 
tute, and  become  a  permanent  reminder  of  the  facts  and 
ideas  there  stated,  and  form  a  digest  of  the  latest  and  best 
agricultural  thought.  Members  of  the  legislature  are  sup- 
plied with  all  the  copies  they  wish  for  their  constituents. 
Every  cheese  factory  and  creamery  in  the  state,  there  being 
over  1,600,  is  supplied  upon  request  for  copies  to  furnish 
their  patrons.  They  are  called  for  from  Maine  to  Texas; 
from  California  and  Oregon,  and  the  states  of  New  England. 
They  are  appreciated  and  quoted  in  England  and  conti- 
nental Europe.  Only  a  short  time  ago  the  London  Live- 
stock Journal  devoted  two  entire  columns  to  an  exhaustive 
review.  Peter  Collier,  director  of  the  New  York  experiment 
station,  says:  "I  question  whether  better  work  in  behalf 
of  agriculture  is  being  done  in  the  world."  A.  L.  Crosby, 
the  noted  breeder  of  Maryland,  writes  of  the  bulletin  :  "  It 
is  agricultural  hash,  not  made  from  left-over,  but  out  of  fresh 
material  just  from  the  best  markets."  Editorially  the  Breed- 
ers' Gazette  declares:  "The  fame  of  the  bulletins  of  the 
"Wisconsin  farmers'  institutes  has  spread  over  two  continents. 
They  are  a  small  agricultural  library  in  themselves."  Pro- 
fessor Jas.  W.  Robertson,  the  dairy  commissioner  of  Canada, 
says  that  "  the  Wisconsin  farmers'  institute  bulletins  have 
always  been  packed  full  of  useful  information,  put  in  such  a 
winsome  way  that  those  who  read  it  are  likely  to  act  upon 
its  recommendations." 


WISCONSIN   farmers'   INSTITUTES.  387 

The  free  distribution  of  the  bulletins  into  every  agricul- 
tural district  of  the  state  is  accomplishing  an  educational 
work  beyond  the  reach  of  the  institutes.  The  fellow  who 
knows  it  all — wiio  will  not  read  an  agricultural  paper  nor 
attend  farmers'  institute  meetings,  receives  a  bulletin,  which 
is  read  more  from  curiosity  than  a  desire  for  more  knowl- 
edge, and  unconsciously  drifts  into  better  and  more  profit- 
able methods,  and  becomes  a  convert  to  the  institute  idea. 
The  farm  institutes  will  only  touch  their  highest  point  of 
efficiency  when  they  reach  this  class.  Although  in  the  past 
eight  years  nearly  five  hundred  institutes  have  been  held, 
yet  we  doubt  if  over  one-fifth  of  the  farmers  of  our  state 
have  ever  attended  one  of  the  sessions.  The  work  in  the 
future  will  be  in  a  measure  directed  to  reach  these  non- 
attendants,  first,  by  establishing  permanent  organizations  of 
county  institutes,  then  by  an  organization  of  town  insti- 
tutes, which  shall  hold  regular  meetings  and  send  delegates 
to  the  larger  organizations.  In  this  way  the  institute  work 
can  be  pushed  into  every  neighborhood,  and  its  influence 
extend  to  every  farm  liome.  Lists  of  names  have  already  been 
obtained  from  three  thousand  school  districts.  This  work 
will  be  continued  until  the  names  and  post-office  address  of 
nearly  160,000  of  Wisconsin  farmers  will  be  upon  file  in  this 
office,  and  the  foundation  well  begun  for  a  mammoth  educa- 
tional organization. 

The  institutes,  in  their  organization  and  development, 
are  the  results  of  no  ephemeral  impulse.  They  have  become 
a  fixed  part  of  tlie  educational  system  of  the  state.  They 
have  helped  the  state  university.  A  member  of  the  execu- 
tive committee,  a  cultured  gentleman,  an  able  lawyer  and  a 
broad-minded  student  of  educational  forces,  recently  re- 
marked that  the  institutes  had  not  only  lifted  the  farming 
interests  of  the  state,  but  they  had  gone  over  the  state  like  a 
great  rake,  drawing  many  of  the  brightest  and  best  of  Wis- 
consin's youth  into  the  splendid  discipline  of  the  university 
courses. 

W.  H.  Morrison. 

APPENDIX. 

BENEFITS   OF   FARMERS'   INSTITUTES. 

The  farmers'  institutes  are  sources  from  which  knowledge 
can  be  drawn. 

They  stimulate  a  pride  and  respect  for  farming. 
They  bring  farmers  together  in  closer  social  relations. 


388  WISCONSIN  farmers'  institutes. 

They  make  public  the  latest  discoveries  in  agriculture. 

They  give  the  farmers  of  the  state  an  opportunity  to  meet 
men  who  have  made  their  business  a  science  as  well  as  an  art. 

They  are  banks  for  the  deposit  of  experience,  that  may  be- 
come the  common  property  of  all. 

They  are  the  organized  friends  of  good  crops  and  good  prices. 

They  teach  the  duties  of  home  and  citizenship. 

They  tend  to  keep  a  fair  portion  of  the  best  boys  upon  the 
farm. 

They  energize  and  fertilize  local  thought  and  arouse  attention. 

They  cost  less  than  a  single  cigar  to  each  farmer  of  the  state. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Closing  Wisconsin  Farmers'  institute,  Fond  du  Lac,  March 
1,  2  and  3,  1893. 

Better  farming,  better  homes,  better  schools,  and  a  broader 
social  life. 

Prior  to  the  first  session,  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  ten 
o'clock,  several  hundred  books  will  be  distributed  free.  The  first 
session  will  commence  at  ten  o'clock  sharp. 

PROGRAMME. 

POTATO  DAY,  MARCH  1. 

Soil  preparation  and  planting  of  potatoes,  J.  M.  Smith,  Green 
Bay,  Wisconsin. 

Cultivation  of  the  potato  crop,  George  Martin,  Hudson,  Wis- 
consin, 

Harvesting  and  storing  of  potatoes,  M.  T.  Allen,  Waupaca, 
Wisconsin. 

How  to  grow  the  cheapest  bushel  of  potatoes,  T.  B.  Terry, 
Hudson,  Ohio. 

How  to  grow  potatoes  of  superior  quality,  F.  A.  Huebner, 
Manitowoc,  Wisconsin. 

The  Bordeaux  mixture  for  potato  blight.  Prof.  E.  S.  Goff,Ex- 
periment  station,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 

SHEEP  DAY,  MARCH  2. 

Selection  of  breeding  sheep,  A.   0.  Fox,  Oregon,  Wisconsin. 

Management  of  breeding  sheep,  Robert  Miller,  Brougham, 
Canada. 

Crops  to  grow  for  sheep,  George  McKerrow,  Sussex,  Wis- 
consin. 

Feeding  sheep.  Prof.  J.  A.  Craig,  Experiment  station,  Madi- 
son, Wisconsin. 

Diseases,  remedies  and  care  of  the  flock,  C.  D.  Smead,  V.  S., 
Logan,  New  York. 

Winter  lamb  raising,  J.  S.  Woodward,  Lockport,  New  York. 


WISCONSIN   farmers'   INSTITUTES.  389 

DAIRY   DAY,  MARCH  8. 

How  shall  we  secure  profitable  cows?  R.  S.  Kingman,  Sparta, 
Wisconsin. 

How  to  produce  the  best  cow  feeds  at  the  least  cost. 

How  shall  we  feed  her  for  the  greatest  profit  ?  C.  P.  Good- 
rich, Fort  Atkinson,  Wisconsin. 

How  to  avoid  losses  of  butter  fat  in  butter  making,  Dr.  S.  M. 
Babcock,  Experiment  station,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 

How  the  best  and  choicest  butter  is  made,  W.  H.  Gilbert, 
Richland,  New  York. 

In  connection  with  this  topic  there  will  be  an  exhibit  of 
butter  from  some  of  the  most  noted  dairies  in  the  Union. 

How  and  where  our  fancy  cheese  is  manufactured,  J.  H. 
Monrad,  Chicago,  Illinois. 

With  the  discussion  of  this  subject,  samples  of  the  best  fancy 
cheese  known,  both  domestic  and  foreign,  will  be  exhibited. 

In  addition  to  the  above  there  will  be  two  evening  sessions, 
at  which  President  Adams,  of  the  state  university,  Prof.  Henry, 
T.  J.  Van  Matre,  and  many  others  will  take  part.  T.  B.  Terry 
will  also  give  his  popular  lecture,  "The  Wife's  Share." 

Miss  M.  L.  Clarke,  of  the  Milwaukee  cooking  school,  has  been 
engaged  to  give  a  cooking  lesson  each  afternoon  to  the  ladies. 

Questions  and  discussions  after  each  topic. 

Come  to  the  institute,  and  bring  your  wife,  your  sons  and 
daughters.  Invite  your  neighbors.  The  institute  is  yours. 
Bring  samples  of  grain,  butter,  cheese,  vegetables,  fruit,  etc. 
This  is  a  free  feast.     Come  for  your  share. 

Bring  this  programme  with  you  to  the  institute. 

ROCK  COUNTY. 

farmers'  institute. 

Evansville,  February  23  and  24,  1893. 

Conducted  by  M.  A.  Thayer. 

Better  farming,  better  homes,  better  schools,  and  a  broader 
social  life.  ■ 

Prior  to  the  first  session,  between  the  hours  of  nine  and  ten 
o'clock,  several  hundred  books  will  be  distributed  free.  The  first 
session  commences  at  ten  o'clock  sharp. 

PROGRAMME. 

THURSDAY  MORNING  SESSION,   10  o'CLOCK. 

How  shall  we  maintain  the  fertility  of  the  farm  ?  C.  H. 
Everett. 

Clover  as  a  fertilizer,  C.  A.  Hatch. 


390  WISCONSIN  farmers'  institutes. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION,   1  :30  o'CLOCK. 

Sheep  for  profit,  W.  L.  Ames. 

How  shall  we  secure  profitable  cows  ?  C.  H.  Everett. 

My  experience  with  a  farm  dairy,  E.  0.  Wheelock, 

EVENING  SESSION,  7  :30  o'cLOCK HORTICULTURAL  SESSION. 

Music,  Congregational  choir. 

The  farmers'  garden,  M.  A.  Thayer. 

Improvement  associations.  Prof.  E.  S.  Goff. 

Recitation,  Miss  Grace  Alsop. 

Horticulture  for  young  people,  M.  A.  Thayer. 

An  address,  B.  S.  Hoxie. 

Music. 

FRIDAY  MORNING  SESSION,   9  :30  o'CLOCK. 

Clover  hay-making,  C.  H.  Everett. 
Grain  raising,  C.  A.  Hatch. 
Corn  culture,  W.  L.  Ames. 

AFTERNOON  SESSION,   1  :30  o'cLOCK. 

Testing  milk  with  the  Babcock  test. 

Swine  husbandry,  C.  H.  Everett. 

Improvement  of  country  roads,  C.  A.  Hatch. 

Question  box,  free  for  all- 
Questions  and  discussions  after  each  topic. 

Come  to  the  institute,  and  bring  your  wife,  your  sons  and 
daughters.  Invite  your  neighbors.  The  institute  is  yours. 
Bring  samples  of  grain,  butter,  cheese,  vegetables,  fruit,  etc. 
This  is  a  free  feast.     Come  for  your  share. 

Bring  this  programme  with  you  to  the  institute. 


University  Extension  in  Wisconsin. 


As  early  as  1885  provision  was  made  in  Wisconsin  for  a 
form  of  university  extension,  both  novel  and  eminently  suc- 
cessful. This  was  the  creation  of  the  farmers'  institutes, 
under  university  direction,  described  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  This  system  is  Wisconsin's  original  contribution 
to  university  extension,  and  it  has  promoted  both  the  agri- 
cultural prosperity  of  the  state  and  the  solidarity  of  interests 
between  the  university  and  the  farmer.  Writing  in  Har- 
per's Magazine  in  April,  1888,  Charles  Dudley  Warner  said : 

*'  Wisconsin  is  working  out  its  educational  ideas  on  an  in- 
telligent system,  and  one  that  may  be  expected  to  demonstrate 
the  ftiU  value  of  the  popular  method — I  mean  a  more  intimate 
connection  of  the  university  with  the  life  of  the  people  than  exists 
elsewhere.  *  *  *  The  distinguishing  thing,  however,  about 
the  state  university  is  its  vital  connection  with  the  farmers  and 
agricultural  interests.  *  *  *  j  know  of  no  other  state  where 
a  like  system  of  popular  instruction  on  a  vital  and  universal 
interest  of  the  state,  directed  by  the  highest  educational  author- 
ity, is  so  perfectly  organized  and  carried  on  with  such  unity  of 
purpose  and  detail  of  administration ;  no  other  in  which  the 
farmer  is  brought  systematically  into  such  direct  relations  to  the 
university." 

With  the  establishment  of  the  chair  of  the  science  and 
art  of  teaching,  in  1885,  the  university  reached  out  to  the 
teachers'  institutes  of  the  state  its  helping  hand.  The  pro- 
fessor in  that  department  was  made  lecturer  at  the  institutes, 
and  during  the  spring  and  fall,  when  the  institutes  are  in 
session,  devotes  most  of  his  time  to  their  service.  In  this 
way  from  thirty  to  forty  lectures  have  been  delivered  each 
year. 

Although  Wisconsin  had  thus  extended  university 
influence  directlj'  to  the  farming  and  teaching  classes  it  was 
not  until  1891  that  university  extension  of  the  English  type 
was  systematically  organized  in  the  state.  The  germs  of  the 
movement  had  long  existed.  Individual  members  of  the 
faculty  had  given  frequent  lectures  about  the  state,  and  the 
studies  of  individuals  and  clubs  had  been  directed  by  cor- 
respondence.    In  January,  1888,  the  Contemporary  club,  of 


391 


392  UNIVERSITY   EXTENSION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

Madison,  acting  on  the  suggestion  of  the  late  William  F. 
Allen,  professor  of  history  in  the  university — a  scholar  quick 
to  see  and  promote  all  helpful  movements — arranged  a  course 
of  six  free  lectures  on  the  history  of  the  old  Northwest. 
Of  the  lecturers,  the  majority  were  then  or  later  members 
of  the  university  faculty.  The  course  was  modeled  on  the 
"Old  South  Work"  of  Boston.  A  syllabus  was  distributed 
and  courses  of  reading  suggested.  The  state  historical  so- 
ciety, under  the  direction  of  its  secretary,  Reuben  G.  Thwaites, 
one  of  the  lecturers,  promoted  reading  by  rendering  its  books 
easily  accessible.  In  the  following  year  a  second  course  was 
given  on  the  "  Far  West,"  and  in  1890  a  third  course  on 
"  Crossing  of  the  Alleghanies."  The  first  two  courses  were 
repeated  in  Milwaukee,  and  calls  were  received  for  them  in 
other  parts  of  the  state.  In  the  winter  of  1890-91  the 
writer  conducted  courses  of  six  lectures  in  American  his- 
tory at  Columbus  and  Stoughton.  At  the  close  of  December, 
1890,  Dr.  T.  C.  Chamberlin,  the  president  of  the  university, 
addressed  the  state  teachers'  association,  at  Madison,  out- 
lining a  proposed  systematic  organization  of  the  work  in 
Wisconsin.  Two  weeks  later  Professor  H.  B.  Adams,  of 
Johns  Hopkins  university,  gave  the  biennial  address  before 
the  state  historical  society,  taking  for  his  subject  "The 
Higher  Education  of  the  People." 

At  the  opening  of  the  academic  year  in  the  fall  of  1891 
the  university  issued  circulars  offering  courses  by  ten  mem- 
bers of  the  faculty.  The  unit  course  consisted  of  six  lec- 
tures. Upon  completing  the  required  work  candidates  were 
given  certificates  entitling  the  holder  to  university  credit, 
equivalent  to  one  hour  a  week  extending  through  one  term. 
The  fee  was  sixty  dollars  and  all  expenses,  including  the 
cost  of  furnishing  syllabi  to  all  the  audience.  Applications 
were  considered  from  any  suitable  local  organization.  In 
several  cases  special  extension  societies  were  formed.  In 
Milwaukee  the  movement  was  particularly  well  organized 
through  the  efforts  of  the  people's  institute,  of  which  Mr. 
K.  C.  Spencer  was  the  president.  The  response  to  the  circu- 
lars was  so  quick  and  extensive  that  the  university  was 
unable  to  supply  the  demand.  One  hundred  and  seven 
requests  for  courses  were  received  and  fifty  courses  were 
given.  Thirty-four  cities  were  represented  in  these  centers, 
five  of  which  took  two  courses,  and  one  (Milwaukee)  nine. 
It  is  carefully  estimated  that  the  number  of  people  who 
listened  to  the  lectures  was  8,500,  and  the  attendance  in  class 


UNIVERSITY   EXTENSION    IN   WISCONSIN.  393 

exercises  aggregated  4,500.  In  the  same  year  the  estimated 
aggregate  attendance  upon  farmers'  institutes  was  30,000. 
It  is  evident  that  the  university  activity  was  widely  spread 
outside  the  class-room  and  laboratory.  The  usual  audience 
was  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five.  Of  the  courses 
given,  seventeen  were  in  English  literature,  eight  in  Ameri- 
can history,  seven  in  geology,  six  in  bacteriology,  three  in 
economics,  two  in  botany,  two  in  Scandinavian  literature,, 
and  two  in  electricity.  Ninety-three  persons  passed  the 
examinations  entitling  them  to  university  credit.  From  all 
parts  of  the  state  reports  came  of  increased  interest  in  the 
formation  and  use  of  libraries. 

At  the  opening  of  the  present  academic  year  a  staff  of 
seven  special  extension  lecturers  was  organized  in  addition 
to  the  nineteen  members  of  the  faculty  who  offered  courses. 
In  all,  forty  courses  were  offered,  covering  almost  the  entire 
range  of  university  studies.  The  fee  was  raised  to  ninety 
dollars,  and  Mr.  Lyman  P.  Powell  was  made  secretary  of  the 
university  extension  department.  Particular  efforts  were 
made  by  him  to  organize  and  stimulate  the  class  work,  and 
the  formation  of  circuits.  In  spite  of  the  additional  fee  and 
the  added  emphasis  upon  the  purely  educational  side  of  the 
work,  the  secretary  reported  at  the  close  of  December,  1892, 
that  fifty  three  calls  had  been  accepted  and  ten  courses  com- 
pleted. The  classes  of  Mrs.  S.  L.  Sheldon  (extension  lec- 
turer in  history),  four  of  which  are  in  Madison,  three  in  Mil- 
waukee and  one  in  Kenosha,  are  conducted  on  a  special 
basis,  the  work  being  entirely  class  work,  conducted  largely 
by  the  topical  method  and  occupying  a  much  longer  period 
of  time.  These  classes  have  been  organized  for  some  years, 
and  are  now  given  as  a  part  of  the  university's  extension 
work. 

The  people's  institute  of  Milwaukee  is  also  conducting 
classes  in  economics  and  history  supplementary  to  the  exten- 
sion lectures.  In  the  case  of  at  least  three  lecturers  a  select 
class  in  addition  to  the  general  class  has  been  formed  to- 
pursue  the  study  more  minutely.  Thus  it  is  evident  that 
the  work  of  the  year  shows  a  hopeful  increase  in  distinc- 
tively university  character. 

The  summer  school  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin- 
supplements  the  extension  teaching,  though  organized  on  an 
independent  basis.  At  its  last  session  an  attendance  of  191 
was  reported.  The  university  extension  idea  has  also  been 
incorporated   into  the   university  itself.     Each  department 


394  UNIVERSITY   EXTENSION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

offers  a  series  of  synoptical  lectures  on  its  subject,  calculated 
to  give  the  general  student  an  insight  into  the  vital  features 
of  the  various  lines  of  study  which  lie  outside  of  his  own 
course.  It  will  be  seen  that  Wisconsin  has  organized  her 
educational  activity  on  a  distinctly  democratic  basis.  A  sys- 
tem of  accredited  high  schools  and  affiliated  normal  schools 
enables  the  student  of  her  public  schools  to  pass  directly 
from  them  to  the  university.  Her  farmers'  institutes  and 
the  bulletins  of  her  agricultural  department  bring  the  fruit 
of  laboratory  experimentation  directly  to  the  farm.  Her 
general  extension  work  is  broader  in  the  lists  of  subjects 
offered,  reaches  all  quarters  of  the  state,  and  the  centers  are 
more  numerous  than  those  of  any  other  state  university. 

F.  J.  Turner. 

Bibliographical  Note:  Material  for  the  history  of  the  extension 
movement  in  Wisconsin  is  to  be  found  in  the  following  sources: 
University  Extension,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  311-324;  Catalogue  of  the  University 
of  Wisconsin,  1891-92,  pp.  47,  64-66;  Madison  Democrat,  December  22, 
1892;  University  Extension  World,  January,  1893,  pp.  17-18;  Wiscon- 
sin Journal  of  Education,  monthly,  beginning  September,  1892;  Re- 
port of  President  C.  K.  Adams  to  the  regents,  January  4,  1893;  Inaug- 
ural Address,  January  17,  1893. 


The  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin. 


THE  SUGGESTION. 


In  the  autumn  of  1845,  Richard  H.  Magoon,  an  early 
settler  of  what  is  now  La  Fayette  county,  Wisconsin,  sug- 
gested to  C.  C.  Britt,  editor  of  The  Mineral  Point  Democrat, 
the  advisability  of  organizing  an  historical  society  "to  collect 
from  the  pioneers  then  alive,  such  facts  in  regard  to  the 
early  history  of  Wisconsin  as  they  might  possess,  as  well  as 
to  treasure  up  those  concerning  the  future."  In  an  article 
in  his  journal  of  the  date  of  October  twenty-second,  1845, 
Editor  Britt  forcibly  seconded  the  motion,  and  asked  his 
brethren  of  the  press  "to  keep  this  ball  in  motion  until  the 
object  is  attained."  The  Madison  Argus,  of  the  twenty- 
eighth  of  October,  fell  in  w^ith  the  idea,  and  very  soon  all  of 
the  papers  of  Wisconsin  Territory  responded  favorably  to  the 
call,  while  General  William  R.  Smith,  a  distinguished  pio- 
neer of  Mineral  Point,  privately  urged  the  matter  in  his 
neighborhood. 

It  was  hoped  that,  as  a  consequence  of  this  agitation, 
something  would  be  done  in  this  direction  during  the  forth- 
coming session  of  the  territorial  legislature  at  Madison  ;  but 
the  session  was  a  brief  one,  lasting  only  from  January  fifth 
to  February  third,  1846,  and  other  affairs  occupied  the 
minds  of  the  representative  men  gathered  at  the  capital  dur- 
ing that  period.  But  in  September,  1846,  Mr.  Britt  renew^ed 
his  editorial  advocacy  of  the  scheme,  in  The  Milwaukee 
Courier,  with  which  he  had  been  connected,  and  advised  that, 
during  the  convention  that  had  been  called  to  frame  a  state 
constitution,  a  meeting  be  held  to  perfect  the  historical  so- 
ciety scheme.  The  Madison  Democrat  and  several  other 
journals  followed  The  Courier's  lead  in  this  suggestion. 

THE  FIRST  ORGANIZATION. 

The  first  constitutional  convention  opened  at  Madison 
the  fifth  of  October,  1846,  most  of  the  principal  men  of  the 
territory  being  chosen  as  delegates  to  the  body.  Judge 
Thomas  P.  Burnett,  of  Grant  county,  one  of  the  members, 
was  nine  days  late  in   reaching  Madison,  owing   to   illness, 


895 


396  THE  STATE  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

but  upon  his  arrival  he  proceeded  amid  Iiis  other  duties  to 
do  what  he  could  to  carry  out  the  project  of  an  historical 
society.  He  called  a  meeting  of  a  few  prominent  delegates 
at  bis  room  in  the  American  House,  among  those  present 
being  Governor  J.  D.  Doty,  General  William  R.  Smith, 
Thomas  W.  Sutherland,  George  Hyer,  A.  Hyatt  Smith  and 
D,  A.  J.  Upham.  Judge  Burnett,  who  was  among  the  most 
eminent  of  the  early  jurists  of  Wisconsin,  addressed  the  meet- 
ing, and  it  was  resolved  to  organize  such  a  society. 

A  more  formal  meeting  was  held  in  the  state  library 
room  of  the  old  capitol,  a  few  evenings  later,  both  confer- 
ences being  held  between  the  fourteenth  and  the  twenty-fifth 
of  October  ;  no  record  exists  of  the  exact  dates,  and  the  local 
newspapers  failed  to  notice  the  affair.  A.  Hyatt  Smith  of 
Janesville  is  reported  to  have  been  chairman  of  the  second 
meeting  and  to  have  been  chosen  president  of  the  society ; 
Judge  Burnett  and  Governor  Doty  were  selected  as  vice- 
presidents,  E.  M.  Williamson  of  Madison  as  treasurer  and 
Mr.  Sutherland  as  secretary.  A  constitution  providing  for 
life  and  active  members  was  adopted,  and  the  officers  were 
to  hold  until  the  first  annual  meeting  in  January  following. 
Governor  Doty  was  selected  as  the  first  annual  orator.  But 
at  this  annual  meeting  in  January,  1847,  held  soon  after  the 
commencement  of  the  legislative  session,  the  governor  failed 
to  make  the  requested  address.  New  officers  were  chosen, 
Morgan  L.  Martin  of  Green  Bay  being  selected  as  president, 
while  Sutherland  and  Williamson  were  re-elected  to  be  secre- 
tary and  treasurer  respectively.  There  were,  however,  neither 
records  kept  nor  money  paid  into  the  treasury,  and  the  new 
president  did  not  deliver  the  address  he  had  been  invited  to 
prepare. 

The  year  had  passed  without  progress  or  the  perform- 
ance of  any  official  duty.  In  January,  1848,  during  the 
second  constitutional  convention,  another  meeting  was  held. 
General  William  R.  Smith  being  elected  president.  But  the 
gathering  was  a  failure,  both  as  to  numbers  and  interest,  less 
than  a  dozen  persons  being  present,  and  the  first  organiza- 
tion of  the  society  may  be  considered  as  having  died  when 
the  gavel  sounded  for  adjournment. 

THE  SECOND   ORGANIZATION. 

There  was,  in  after  years,  when  the  society  became 
successful,  some  dispute  as  to  whom  the  honor  should  be 
awarded  for   reviving  the  historical  society  idea  a  twelve- 


THE  STATE   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY.  397 

month  later.  The  parties  to  the  dispute  have  now  passed 
away,  and  we  may  safely  inquire  into  its  merits.  To  Eleazer 
Root,  of  Waukesha,  Wisconsin's  first  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  is  doubtless  chiefly  due  the  credit  of 
•'  the  efficient  movement "  in  this  direction.  From  this  time 
forward  the  records  of  the  society  are  complete,  and  from  them 
we  gather  that,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  January,  1849,  nineteen 
days  after  the  opening  of  the  first  session  of  the  state  legis- 
lature in  Madison,  a  number  of  citizens  and  members  of  the 
legislature  held  a  meeting  at  the  American  House  to  take 
the  project  of  forming  a  state  historical  society  into  consid- 
eration, the  previous  existence  of  the  old  society,  now  defunct, 
being  ignored.  Of  this  meeting  John  Y.  Smith,  of  Dane 
county,  was  chosen  chairman,  and  E.  M.  Williamson,  also 
of  Dane,  secretary.  Superintendent  Root  explained  the  ob- 
ject souglit.  It  was  voted  to  organize  such  a  society,  and 
George  Reed,  of  Waukesha,  and  Mr.  Root  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  draft  a  constitution  and  circulate  a  call. 

The  following  evening,  as  a  result  of  this  call,  a  well- 
attended  popular  meeting  was  convened  in  the  senate  cham- 
ber in  the  state  house.  Mr.  Root  was  called  to  the  chair  and 
General  William  R.  Smith,  of  Iowa  county,  officiated  as  sec- 
retary. Judge  Charles  H.  Larrabee,  of  Dodge;  Samuel 
Crawford,  of  Iowa;  Alfred  Brunson,  of  Crawford;  General 
Smith,  and  John  Y.  Smith,  made  explanatory  speeches.  It 
was  again  formally  decided  to  organize  a  society,  and  George 
Reed,  John  Y.  Smith,  and  I.  A.  Lapham,  of  Milwaukee,  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  draft  a  constitution.  A  brief  and 
simple  document  was  unanimously  adopted,  giving  the  name 
of  the  organization  as  "The  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin." 
About  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons,  chiefly  members  of 
the  legislature,  signed  the  roll.  Governor  Nelson  Dewey 
was  chosen  president  of  the  society,  as  a  compliment  to  his 
official  station.  The  list  of  vice-presidents  comprised  one 
from  each  county  in  the  state.  I.  A.  Lapham,  the  distin- 
guished scientist  and  antiquarian,  was  elected  corresponding 
secretary;  Rev.  Charles  Lord,  of  Dane,  was  appointed  record- 
ing secretary;  E.  M,  Williamson,  treasurer,  and  John  Catlin, 
Beriah  Brown,  and  Alexander  Botkin,  all  of  Dane,  consti- 
tuted the  executive  committee.  The  other  business  of  the 
meeting  consisted  solely  of  the  passage  of  two  resolutions : 
the  first,  inviting  General  Smith  to  deliver  an  address  at  the 
next  annual  meeting;  and  the  second,  asking  the  surve.yors 
of  the  state  to  furnish  to  the  society  "  actual  measurements 


398  THE   STATE   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

of   the  ancient  mounds  and  artificial  earthworks  in  their 
vicinity." 

On  the  evening  of  Tuesdaj'^,  January  fifteenth,  1850, 
General  W.  R.  Smith  delivered,  in  the  assemby  cham- 
ber, the  first  annual  address  before  the  society,  the  judges  of 
the  supreme  court  and  the  regents  of  the  state  university 
being  present  as  invited  guests.  The  recording  secretary 
has  entered  upon  his  journal  that  "  the  discourse  was  elabo- 
rate in  its  researches,  felicitous  in  its  style,  classical  in  its 
tone,  and  pervaded  throughout  with  a  spirit  of  accuracy  and 
of  beauty,  and  by  a  warm  sympathy  with  the  truth  uttered 
and  the  events  and  persons  described."  And,  indeed,  the 
printed  copy  of  the  address,  which  lies  open  before  me  as  I 
write,  warrants  this  warm  encomium ;  it  carefully  mapped 
out,  for  the  first  time,  the  general  course  of  early  Wisconsin 
history,  and  later  explorers  in  that  field  have  but  added 
details  to  our  knowledge. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  January  twenty-first,  1851,  Mor- 
gan L.  Morgan  delivered  the  annual  address ;  and  March 
sixteenth,  1852,  Lewis  N.  Wood,  of  Walworth,  was  the  tliird 
annual  speaker.  But  beyond  these  three  addresses,  nothing 
of  importance  was  done  during  this  period.  The  discourses, 
in  pamphlet  form,  were  sent  out  to  perhaps  a  dozen  other 
learned  societies,  and  a  library  of  fifty  volumes  was  slowly 
accumulated — all  of  these  books  being  state  laws,  legislative 
journals,  miscellaneous  public  documents,  two  volumes  of  the 
"  Transactions  of  the  American  Ethnological  Society,"  and 
a  volume  on  American  bibliography.  The  meagre  collec- 
tion was  contained  in  a  small  glass-faced  case,  kept  on  a 
table  in  a  corner  of  the  governor's  office,  and  this  case  is 
now  exhibited  as  a  curiosity  in  the  society's  museum. 

THE   REORGANIZATION. 

It  was  evident  that  the  society  would  never  amount  to 
anything,  at  this  rate  of  progress.  What  was  everybody's 
business  was  nobody's ;  somebody  must  devote  his  entire 
time  to  the  work,  becoming  personally  responsible  for  the 
conduct  of  the  society's  affairs,  and  giving  to  it  life  and 
individual  character.  The  man  for  the  place  was  imported 
to  Madison  in  October,  1852.  He  was  Lyman  C.  Draper,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  had  already  spent  about  fifteen  years  in 
the  accumulation  of  materials  for  Western  history,  achieving 
such  success  in  his  manuscript  and  book  collections,  in  a 
time  when  collectors  of  Americana  were  few,  as  to  attract  the 


THE   STATE   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY.  399 

attention  of  scholars  throughout  the  Eastern  states.  Dr. 
Draper  was  then  thirty-seven  years  of  age,  full  of  vigor  and 
push,  kindly  of  disposition,  persuasive  in  argument,  devoted 
to  his  life  task  of  collecting,  self-denying  in  the  cause,  and  of 
unimpeachable  character. 

For  various  reasons,  not  necessary  here  to  recite,  it  was 
the  eighteenth  of  January,  1854,  before  the  society  was 
thoroughly  reorganized  for  work  on  the  new  plan.  Dr. 
Draper  was  at  that  time  chosen  secretary,  and  at  once  entered 
with  joyous  enthusiasm  upon  the  undertaking  of  accumu- 
lating books  for  the  library,  relics  and  curiosities  for  the 
museum,  portraits  for  the  gallery,  and  documents  for  publi- 
cation in  the  Wisconsin  Historical  Collections.  In  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks  the  little  library  case  was  too  small.  By  the 
close  of  the  year  the  secretary  was  enabled  to  report  to  the 
society  the  acquisition  of  one  thousand  volumes  and  one 
thousand  pamphlets  and  documents — certainly  a  remarkable 
showing  as  compared  with  the  fifty  books  which  had  been 
the  product  of  the  five  years  preceding  his  active  adminis- 
tration. For  want  of  library  space  the  greater  part  of  the 
acquisitions  were  stored  in  Dr.  Draper's  residence  until,  in 
August,  1855,  a  small  room  in  the  corner  of  the  basement  of 
the  local  Baptist  church  was  secured  for  the  society's  use. 
On  the  first  of  January,  185G,  Daniel  S.  Durrie,  a  book- 
seller formerly  in  business  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  was  chosen 
librarian,  and  held  this  useful  and  honorable  position  for 
over  thirty-six  years,  until  his  death,  August  thirty-first, 
1892.  He  Wcis  succeeded  by  Isaac  S.  Bradley,  for  seventeen 
years  his  chief  assistant. 

The  society  soon  securing  legislative  aid,  the  collections 
grew  apace  until  nearly  the  entire  basement  of  the  church 
was  occupied.  This  place  was,  however,  dark,  damp,  and 
dingy,  but  little  suited  to  library  purposes.  In  January, 
1866,  the  institution — library,  portrait  gallery,  and  museum — 
was  removed  by  authority  of  the  legislature  to  quarters 
especially  prepared  for  it  in  the  then  new  south  wing  of  the 
capitol.  It  was  thought  that  there  was  now  ample  room  for  the 
accessions  of  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  century.  But  such  was 
the  rate  of  increase  that  in  less  than  ten  years'  time  these 
quarters  were  a  tight  fit.  By  1881,  cords  of  volumes,  pam- 
phlets, and  relics  were  piled  in  out-of-the-way  corners  and 
rooms  throughout  the  capitol,  there  being  no  space  to  shelve 
or  display  them. 

Secretary  Draper,  as  the  executive  officer  of  the  society, 


400  THE  STATE   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 

now  opened  a  vigorous  campaign  for  a  new  building;  he 
awakened  interest  in  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  state, 
and  gained  the  unanimous  support  of  the  newspaper  editors. 
But  there  were  certain  complications  which  made  it  impos- 
sible to  carry  a  separate  building  scheme  through  the  legis- 
lature. A  compromise  resulted  in  the  society  being  given 
the  second,  third  and  fourth  floors  of  one  of  two  large  trans- 
verse wings  ordered  by  the  legislature  of  1881  to  be  attached 
to  the  capitol.  In  December,  1884,  the  transfer  was  made  to 
the  new  and  greatly  enlarged  quarters,  the  library  occupying 
the  second  and  third  floors  of  the  wing,  and  the  museum 
and  portrait  gallery  the  fourth.  These  several  floors  are 
reached  by  a  passenger  elevator.  Having  seen  the  society 
established  in  its  new  rooms.  Secretary  Draper  resigned  his 
position  on  the  sixth  of  January,  1887,  with  a  record  of 
thirty-three  years  of  arduous  labor  in  behalf  of  the  state.* 
It  was  Dr.  Draper's  desire  to  devote  the  remainder  of  his  life 
to  forwarding  some  private  literary  work,  but  he  was  pre- 
vented by  ill-health  from  accomplishing  his  long-cherished 
plans  in  this  direction,  and  died  on  the  twenty -sixth  of 
August,  1891.  The  Wisconsin  historical  library,  which  he 
practically  founded,  and  so  successfully  managed  and  pur- 
veyed for  through  a  third  of  a  century,  will  remain  an 
enduring  moimment  to  his  tireless  energy  as  a  collector  of 
Americana;  while  the  first  ten  volumes  of  Wisconsin  His- 
torical Collections  attest  to  his  quality  as  an  editor  of  mate- 
rial for  Western  history. f 

THE  SOCIETY  AND  THE  STATE. 

From  the  first,  the  Wisconsin  legislature,  with  enlight- 
ened liberality,  looked  kindly  on  tlie  undertaking,  and 
made  appropriations  with  which  to  purchase  accessions, 
meet  the  greater  part  of  the  running  expenses,  and  pay  the 
necessary  salaries.  The  relationship  of  the  society  to  the 
state  is  not  generally  understood,  even  in  Wisconsin.  It  is, 
however,  easy  of  comprehension.  By  statute,  the  society, 
which  operates  under  a  legislative  charter  granted  in  1853, 
is  the  trustee  of  the  state,  and  holds  all  of  its  property  for 
the  commonwealth.  It  can  neither  sell  nor  give  any  of  the 
property  it  thus  holds  in  trust,  nor  remove  any  of  it  from 

*He  was  succeeded  by  the  writer  of  this  paper,  Mr^  Thwaites,  who 
had  been  the  assistant  secretiiry  for  two  years  previous. — Ed. 

f.See  Wisconsin  Historical  Collections,  Vol.  XII.,  pp.  1-22,  for  Sec" 
retary  Thwaites's  memoir  of  Dr.  Draper. — Ed. 


THE  STATE  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY.  401 

the  capitol  without  special  consent  of  the  legislature.  As  to 
rooms,  lights,  fires,  janitorial  service,  repairs,  mechanical 
supplies,  stationery,  printing,  and  postage,  tiie  society  is  on 
pretty  much  the  same  footing  as  any  of  the  state  bureaus. 
The  machinery  of  the  society  serves  to  remove  the  manage- 
ment of  this  enterprise  from  partisan  control ;  the  members 
are  gentlemen  of  prominence  throughout  the  state,  of  all 
shades  of  political  opinion  ;  and  for  forty-three  years  there  has 
not  been  even  a  suspicion  of  "politics"  in  the  conduct  of  its  af- 
fairs. The  Historical  Society  is  an  institution  which  all  good 
citizens  unite  in  declaring  should  be  free  from  such  baneful 
influences.  The  work  is  thus  left  in  the  hands  of  those 
having  a  keen  interest  in  it,  and  trained  to  its  performance. 
As  for  the  official  interests  of  the  commonwealth,  they  are 
looked  after  by  the  governor,  secretary  of  state,  and  state 
treasurer,  who  are  by  law  ex-officio  members  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  and  serve  on  its  most  important  sub-commit- 
tees. The  fact  that  these  officers  have  the  power  to  report 
upon  the  society's  operations,  and  the  further  fact  that  the  leg- 
islature can  at  any  time  investigate  its  affairs,  tend  to  make 
the  management  scrupuously  careful. 

THE  LIBRARY. 

The  society  is  actively  engaged  in  several  departments 
of  research  and  accumulation,  has. a  fairly-equipped  histori- 
cal and  ethnographical  museum,  and  a  portrait  gallery  of 
Wisconsin  worthies,  containing  185  portraits  in  oil,  and 
numerous  pictures  of  portrait  statuary.  About  forty  thou- 
sand persons  visit  the  gallery  and  museum  annually,  the 
three  large  halls  devoted  to  these  departments  being  possibly 
the  best  patronized  exhibition  rooms  in  the  state.  Yet,  what- 
ever reputation  the  society  may  have  won  among  scholars, 
has  been  chiefly  the  outgrowth  of  its  library ;  in  this  it  takes 
great  interest  and  is  doing  its  best  educational  work. 

In  1875,  the  miscellaneous  books  in  the  state  library,  at 
the  other  end  of  the  capitol,  were  transferred,  by  order  of 
the  legislature,  to  the  Historical  Society's  library,  leaving  the 
former  purely  a  state  law  library,  under  the  control  of  the 
justices  of  the  supreme  court ;  while  the  latter  became,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  a  miscellaneous  state  library  in  charge 
of  the  Historical  Society.  The  relations  between  the  two 
libraries,  both  the  property  of  the  commonwealth,  are  har- 
monious. 


402  THE  STATE   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

The  society  has  published  twelve  volumes  of  Wisconsin 
Historical  Collections,  averaging  five  hundred  pages  eacli ;  the 
catalogue  of  its  library  in  seven  volumes,  of  seven  to  eight 
hundred  pages  each;  the  proceedings  of  its  annual  meetings; 
two  special  class  catalogues,  one  containing  titles  of  "Books 
on  the  United  States  Civil  War  and  Slavery,"  and  the  other 
an  exhaustive  "Bibliography  of  Wisconsin  Authors ;"  three 
editions  of  its  portrait  gallery  catalogue,  and  numerous  his- 
torical pamphlets. 

The  Wisconsin  historical  library  now  numbers  about 
90,000  volumes  and  70,000  pamphlets.  The  average  annual 
increase  is  3,000  volumes  and  2,500  pamphlets;  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  the  former  are  purchased,  but  not  over  ten  percent, 
of  the  latter. 

In  the  West,  large  private  libraries  are  not  so  numerous 
as  in  the  East,  and  these  are  generally  in  the  possession  of 
young  or  middle-aged  men.  Thus  we  have  not  that  source 
of  supply  enjoyed  by  the  older  libraries  of  the  Atlantic  slope 
in  the  receipt  of  books  by  bequest.  Only  once  have  we  had 
a  large  gift  of  this  character.  In  1866,  Mrs.  Otto  Tank,  of 
Fort  Howard,  gave  to  us  the  library  of  her  father,  a  scholarly 
Amsterdam  clergyman,  named  Van  der  Meulen ;  this  came 
to  her  by  will,  and  having  no  place  to  store  the  books,  she 
presented  them  to  us  on  condition  that  we  pay  the  freight 
charges  from  Holland,  which  we  were  glad  enough  to  do. 
The  Tank  library  consists  of  5,000  old  and  rare  volumes, 
mostly  in  the  Dutch  language,  probably  the  largest  collection 
of  Dutch  books  in  the  United  States.  Nearly  half  of  them 
are  richly  bound  in  vellum,  and  many  are  profusely  illus- 
trated with  seventeenth-century  copper-plate  engravings ;  in 
the  collection  are  numerous  Bibles,  atlases  and  charts,  old 
editions  of  the  classics,  early  lexicons,  and  historical  works. 
These  old  Dutch  books  are  among  the  most  precious  of  our 
treasures. 

The  principal  daily  and  weekly  newspapers  of  the  state 
are  sent  gratis  to  the  library,  for  binding  and  permanent 
preservation.  Some  two  hundred  stout  volumes  are  annually 
made  up  in  this  manner,  three  years  of  the  smaller  weeklies 
being  bound  in  a  volume.  These  files  generally  reach  back 
to  the  first  issues  of  the  journals  represented.  We  find  that 
the  state  papers  are  frequently  referred  to  by  judges,  lawyers, 
members  of  the  legislature,  and  special  investigators  of  every 
sort;  while,  as  the  society's  files  are  in  many  cases  the  only 
full  ones  in  existence,  editors  themselves  have  not  seldom 


THE  STATE  HISTORICAL   SOCIETY.  403 

had  occasion  to  examine  them  in  the  library,  or  write  for  data 
contained  in  early  issues.  Our  collection  of  bound  news- 
paper files  outside  of  the  state  amounts  to  about  5,500 
volumes.  The  earliest  London  file  is  that  of  the  Public  In- 
telligencer, bearing  date  1656.  From  that  time  on  there  are 
few  years  not  represented  by  the  file  of  some  prominent 
English  or  American  journal.  From  1750  forward,  the  col- 
lection is  unusually  strong,  especially  in  the  American  depart- 
ment. 

Regarding  the  scope  of  the  society's  library,  I  may 
explain  that  it  is  a  general  reference  library,  with  the  lines 
of  local  and  general  American  and  English  history,  econo- 
mics, and  description,  developed  with  especial  care.  On 
account  of  the  proximity  of  the  State  University  of  Wisconsin 
— a  mile  away — about  eighty  per  cent,  of  our  readers  are 
students  from  that  institution,  and  in  purveying  for  the  State 
Historical  Library  their  wants  are  taken  into  consideration. 
University  students  doing  original  work  of  some  importance 
are,  under  certain  restrictions,  allowed  access  to  our  shelves, 
the  same  as  other  special  investigators,  as  it  is  greatly  to 
their  advantage  to  have  in  sight  all  the  resources  of  the 
library  on  a  given  subject.  To  be  as  useful  as  possible  is  the 
aim  of  the  library,  and  the  attendants  are  instructed  to  grant 
to  deserving  students  whatever  privileges  are  consistent  with 
careful  management.  The  university  historical  and  eco- 
nomic seminars  are  given  the  use  of  rooms  adjoining  the 
library.  The  students  and  professors  are,  in  fact,  encour- 
aged to  use  our  library  as  freely  as  they  would  that  of  the 
university  itself.  The  University  Library,  of  some  24,000 
volumes,  is  at  present  more  especially  devoted  to  tech- 
nical works,  and  duplication  of  books  already  in  the  State 
Historical  Library  is  avoided  so  far  as  possible;  the  students 
appear  chiefly  to  rely  upon  the  latter  as  their  own  literary 
laboratory. 

In  addition  to  the  university  students,  specialists  from 
all  parts  of  the  West  seek  the  state  historical  library,  espe- 
cially in  the  summer  months. 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  SOCIETY. 

The  annual  state  appropriation  of  five  thousand  dollars 
forms  the  society's  general  fund.  Tliis  appropriation  has 
been  found,  of  late  years,  to  be  too  small  satisfactorily  to  meet 
book  purchasing,  the  salaries  of  assistants,  and  miscellaneous 
requirements,  for  the  output  of  the  press  in  every  department 


404  THE   STATE   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY. 

of  human  research  is  increasing  in  extent,  and  the  library 
has  a  reputation  to  sustain  and  a  wide  variety  of  demands  to 
satisfy,  with  the  growth  of  culture  in  the  state.  It  has  been 
the  aim  of  the  managers  to  relieve  the  pressure  on  the  gen- 
eral fund  by  the  cultivation  of  special  funds,  for  it  is  not 
considered  desirable  to  ask  increased  legislative  assistance  ex- 
cept as  a  last  resort.  Citizens  of  moderate  means  have  from 
time  to  time  been  generous  to  the  society — the  binding  fund 
{of  some  $24,000),  is  largely  a  monument  of  mites,  with  the 
accumulated  interest  thereon ;  the  society  has  as  yet,  how- 
ever, received  no  large  benefactions.  But  these  benefactions 
must  come,  if  it  is  to  achieve  its  greatest  success.  Large 
endowments  would  enable  the  society  to  manage  its  own  af- 
fairs without  the  possibility  of  political  meddling;  to  conduct 
historical  enterprises  on  a  large  scale,  and  secure  original 
material  for  literary  investigators  in  every  branch  of  knowl- 
edge. 

The  legislature  has  certainly  been  generous  to  the  so- 
ciety; with  a  few  notable  exceptions,  the  latter's  relations  with 
the  governing  body  have  been  harmonious,  and  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  society  could  not  have  been  successfully 
maintained  in  this  state — far  removed  from  the  intellectual 
centers  of  the  nation,  and  thereby  laboring  under  peculiar  dif- 
ficulties— without  liberal  state  aid.  But  the  lack  of  inde- 
pendence is,  in  a  certain  degree,  the  inevitable  price  of  such 
aid,  however  necessary  and  well  intended  the  subsidy ;  and 
the  conditions  incident  to  this  are  not  altogether  healthy. 
All  thoughtful  friends  of  the  society  must  recognize  that  it 
cannot  hope  to  enter  upon  its  highest  possibilities  until  private 
munificence  adequately  endows  the  institution  and  enables 
it  to  stand  forth  from  the  shadow  of  the  public  wing. 

The  most  immediate  need  of  the  society  is  a  new,  com- 
modious, fire-proof  building,  designed  on  the  most  approved 
models.  It  present  quarters  in  the  state  capitol  are  quite  in- 
adequate in  extent,  badly  constructed  in  every  way,  and  in 
no  sense  fire-proof;  moreover,  the  state  government  needs  for 
the  use  of  legislative  clerks  and  committees,  the  space  oc- 
cupied by  the  society.  The  expense  of  erecting  a  new  build- 
ing, however,  would  be  far  beyond  our  financial  capacity; 
and  our  earnest  appeals  to  Wisconsin's  men  of  wealth,  to 
erect  in  such  a  structure  an  enduring  monument  for  them- 
selves, have  as  yet  elicited  no  response.  There  is  no  need  of 
disguising  the  fact  that  the  receipt  of  state  aid  is  apt  to  deaden 
private  interest  in  an  institution  of  this  character ;  yet  with- 


THE  STATE   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY,  405 

out  state  aid  it  would,  under  existing  conditions,  certainly  be 
impossible  for  the  society  to  prosper. 

It  seems  inevitable,  then,  that  we  must  persistently  press 
upon  the  legislature  our  claim  for  official  recognition  in  this 
regard.  The  commonwealth  has  made  our  society  its  cor- 
porate trustee,  and  has  taken  unto  itself  the  proprietorship  of 
our  collections.  The  duty  of  the  commonwealth  is  clear. 
It  must  properly  house  its  own  possessions.  We  are  commis- 
sioned to  manage  the  trust,  but  cannot  properly  do  so  as  it  is 
at  present  situated.  We  fail  of  our  duty  as  trustees,  if  we  do 
not  call  public  attention  to  the  present  unfortunate  condition 
of  affairs,  and  take  active  measures  for  their  betterment. 

Reuben  G.  ThwaiTes. 


The  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts  and 

Letters. 


The  Wisconsin  academy  of  sciences,  arts  and  letters 
dates  from  1870,  when  a  call  for  a  meeting  was  circulated 
and  received  the  signatures  of  one  hundred  and  five  of  the 
prominent  men  of  the  state — scientific,  literary,  political  and 
otherwise — the  list  being  headed  by  the  name  of  Lucius 
Fairchild,  the  then  Governor.  On  February  16th  the  con- 
vention met  and  was  presided  over  by  Governor  Fairchild. 
Ex-Governor  Nelson  Dewey  and  Dr.  G.  M.  Steele  were  made 
vice-presidents  of  the  convention,  and  Dr.  I.  A.  Lapham  and 
Prof.  T.  C.  Chamberlin  acted  as  secretaries.  A  constitution 
was  adopted  at  this  meeting  and  the  following  officers  of  the 
academy  were  elected  :  President,  Dr.  J.  W.  Hoyt ;  general 
secretary,  Dr.  I.  A.  Lapham ;  treasurer,  General  George  B. 
Delaplaine.  Measures  were  immediately  taken  for  the  incor- 
poration of  the  academy  by  the  legislature,  and  an  act  was 
approved  March  16th,  which  duly  incorporated  the  Wiscon- 
sin academy  of  sciences,  arts  and  letters.  In  section  2  of 
the  academy's  charter  the  functions  of  the  institution  are 
set  forth  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  The  general  objects  of  the  academy  shall  be  to  encourage 
investigations  and  disseminate  correct  views  of  the  various  de- 
partments of  science,  literature  and  the  arts.  Among  the  spe- 
cific objects  of  the  academy  shall  be  embraced  the  following  : 

1.  Researches  and  investigations  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  the  material,  metaphysical,  ethical,  ethnological  and 
social  sciences. 

2.  A  progressive  and  thorough  scientific  survey  of  the 
state,  with  a  view  of  determining  its  mineral,  agiicultural  and 
other  resources. 

3.  The  formation  of  scientific,  economical  and  art  muse- 
ums. 

4.  The  encouragement  of  philological  and  historical  re- 
search, the  collection  and  preservation  of  historic  records,  and 
the  formation  of  a  general  library. 

5.  The  diflusion  of  knowledge  by  the  publication  of  origi- 
nal contributions  to  science,  literature  and  the  arts." 


406 


ACADEMY   OF  SCIENCES,  ARTS  AND  LETTERS.  407 

The  same  act  provided  rooms  in  the  capitol  for  the 
meetings  and  for  the  storing  of  the  books  and  specimens  of 
the  academy. 

The  state  Iiaving  provided  for  the  publication  of  the 
proceedings  and  the  scientific  papers  of  the  academy,  three 
small  bulletins  were  printed,  giving  the  record  of  meetings 
that  were  held  previous  to  the  permanent  organization  of  the 
academy.  The  scientific  papers  of  the  academy  and  the 
proceedings  have  been  publislied  under  the  name  of  Trans- 
actions, of  which  eight  volumes  have  now  appeared.  The 
eighth  volume  contains  476  pages  in  all,  and  400  pages  of 
papers.  A  statute  provides  for  the  publication  of  a  volume 
every  two  years,  and  hereafter  each  volume  will  be  printed 
in  two  parts,  so  that  a  part  will  appear  each  year. 

Among  the  papers  that  have  appeared  in  the  academy's 
transactions,  those  dealing  with  scientific  subjects  are  the 
most  numerous.  Some  of  the  more  notable  of  these  are  :  In 
zoology,  the  papers  by  George  W.  Peckham,  on  the  attidae ; 
by  Edward  A.  Birge,  on  cladocera  and  on  the  motor  ganglion 
cells  of  the  frog's  spinal  cord  ;  by  W.  K.  Higley,  on  reptiles 
and  batrachia  of  Wisconsin,  and  by  William  M.  Wheeler,  on 
the  abdominal  segments  of  embryo  insects.  In  botany,  by 
William  Trelease,  on  Wisconsin  fungi,  and  by  G.  R.  Barnes, 
on  a  key  to  Lesquereux  and  James'  Manual  of  the  Mosses  of 
North  America.  In  geology,  the  papers  by  T.  C.  Chamber- 
lin,  on  quaternary  geology;  those  by  R.  D.  Irving,  on  the 
geology  of  the  crystalline  rocks  of  Wisconsin ;  a  paper  by 
C.  R.  Van  Hise,  on  the  origin  of  the  iron  ores  of  the  Lake 
Superior  region;  two  by  Frank  Leverett  on  the  raised 
beaches  of  our  Great  Lakes,  as  well  as  papers  by  Salisbury, 
Culver  and  others.  In  the  domain  of  the  humanities  are 
included  a  number  of  historical  papers  by  the  late  William 
Francis  Allen;  papers  on  the  classical  and  oriental  languages 
by  C.  E.  Bennett,  F.  L.  Van  Cleef  and  others ;  on  the  Free- 
dom of  the  Will,  by  John  Bascom,  etc. 

The  generosity  of  the  state  in  printing  an  edition  of  two 
thousand  copies  of  the  Transactions  has  made  it  possible  for 
the  academy  to  accumulate  a  valuable  library  through  ex- 
change with  other  scientific  societies.  The  publications  of 
over  two  hundred  and  filty  societies  or  institutions  are  regu- 
larly received  by  the  academy,  thus  bringing  into  the  state  a 
collection  of  scientific  books  which  is  largely  supplementary 
to  those  in  its  other  libraries.  At  present  the  academy  library 
contains  between   two  and  three  thousand  volumes  of  such 


408  ACADEMY   OP   SCIEN'CES,  ARTS   AND   LETTERS. 

books,  besides  a  considerable  number  of  pamphlets.  A  card 
catalogue  of  these  books  is  now  nearly  completed,  and  a 
printed  catalogue  will  soon  be  prepared  for  distribution.  At 
the  last  annual  meeting  of  the  academy  provision  was  made 
for  the  binding  of  its  books,  and  this  is  now  being  done  as 
rapidly  as  is  practicable.  Simultaneously  with  the  catalogu- 
ing of  the  books  of  the  library,  an  effort  is  being  made  to 
complete  the  series  of  the  more  important  journals.  Within 
a  few  months  at  most  the  catalogue  will  be  ready  and  the 
books  neatly  bound.  The  need  of  better  quarters  for  the 
books  than  those  which  they  now  have  at  the  capitol  will 
then  be  emphasized,  and  it  is  hoped  that  other  quarters  can 
soon  be  provided  for  them.  When  this  is  done  plans  look- 
ing toward  the  greater  accessibility  of  the  books  to  members 
throughout  the  state  will  doubtless  be  adopted. 

The  collection  of  type  fossils  collected  and  described  in 
the  reports  of  the  geological  survey  of  Wisconsin  is  the 
property  of  the  Wisconsin  academy,  and  is  now  stored  in  the 
geological  museum  at  Science  hall. 

The  officers  of  the  academy  are  the  president,  vice- 
presidents  for  each  of  the  three  departments  of  sciences,  arts 
and  letters;  the  secretary,  the  treasurer,  the  librarian  and 
the  custodian  of  the  paleontological  collection.  The  presi- 
dent, vice-presidents,  secretary  and  treasurer  together  con- 
stitute the  council,  or  executive  committee,  of  the  academy. 
There  are  also  standing  committees  on  the  library  and  on 
publication.  The  officers  are  elected  at  the  annual  meeting 
and  hold  office  for  a  term  of  three  years.  Those  who  have 
held  the  office  of  president  are:  Dr.  J.  W.  Hoyt,  of  Madi- 
son ;  Dr.  P.  R.  Hoy,  of  Racine ;  Dr.  A.  L.  Chapin,of  Beloit ; 
Professors  Roland  D.  Irving,  William  Francis  Allen  and 
Edward  A.  Birge,  of  the  university  of  Wisconsin,  Madison; 
and  Professor  George  W.  Peckham,  of  Milwaukee. 

The  academy  is  composed  of  life  members,  honorary 
corresponding  members,  corresponding  members  and  active 
members.  Life  members  have  paid  a  fee  of  $100  to  the 
treasury  of  the  academy,  or  have  been  elected  for  conspicu- 
ous services  rendered  to  the  academy.  The  others  are 
elected,  the  active  members  from  residents  of  the  state  who 
are  engaged  in  study  along  the  lines  indicated  by  the  several 
departments  of  the  academy. 

In  the  earlier  days  of  the  academy  meetings  were  held 
three  times  each  year  for  the  reading  and  discussion  of 
papers.     More   recently   this   has  been  reduced  to  one,  the 


ACADEMY   OP   SCIENCES,  ARTS   AND   LETTERS.  409 

annual  meeting,  which  is  held  during  the  last  week  of  De- 
cember. In  1892  the  summer  field  meeting  was  revived, 
the  academy  convening  at  Ripon.  This  plan  will  be  con- 
tinued if  a  sufficient  number  of  members  find  it  possible  to 
attend. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  state  university  during  the 
last  few  years,  and  the  increased  activity  in  scientific  and 
literary  lines,  which  still  continues,  have  greatly  strength- 
ened the  Wisconsin  academy,  and  the  meetings  promise  to 
increase  in  interest.  The  volume  of  Transactions,  too,  will 
be  larger  and  will  appear  with  greater  regularity  than  hereto- 
fore :  and  to  secure  more  convenience  in  printing  and  more 
prompt  publication  of  investigations,  each  volume  will  ap- 
pear in  two  parts,  a  part  appearing  annually. 

Wm.  H.  Hobbs. 


School  Libraries  in  Wisconsin. 


The  constitution  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin  provides  for 
"the  support  and  maintenance  of  common  schools  in  each 
district  and  the  purchase  of  suitable  libraries  and  appara- 
tus therefor."  The  first  legislature  passed  a  law  author- 
izing each  town  superintendent  to  set  apart  ten  per  cent,  of 
the  school  fund  income  for  each  district  for  the  purchase, 
by  the  district,  of  a  school  library.  In  1859  the  legislature 
amended  this  law  and  set  apart  ten  per  cent,  of  the  school 
fund  income,  together  wdth  the  proceeds  of  a  general  tax  of 
one-tenth  of  a  mill  on  a  dollar,  to  purchase  town  libraries. 
The  financial  necessities  of  the  state,  caused  by  the  war,  led 
the  legislature  to  turn  the  first  fund  collected  under  this  law 
into  the  general  fund,  and  to  repeal  the  law.  Many  of  the 
larger  cities  and  villages  secured  good  school  libraries  under 
this  early  legislation.  Many  rural  districts  were  also  provided 
with  libraries  which  contained  a  large  proportion  of  books 
of  great  merit.  In  many  cases  the  high  character  and  grade 
of  the  books  prevented  their  general  use  ;  they  were  too  difii- 
cult  for  the  average  pupil  and  patron  of  the  school.  In  such 
districts  the  law  was  ignored  after  a  few  annual  purchases. 

From  1862  to  1887  there  was  no  legislation  to  secure  a 
general  system  of  school  libraries,  although  all  school  dis- 
tricts, and  the  boards  of  education  of  villages  and  cities, 
were  given  authority  to  establish  and  maintain  libraries  for 
school  use.  In  1887  many  remnants  of  the  old  district 
libraries  were  still  in  the  country  school  houses  of  southern 
Wisconsin,  but  the  most  interesting  volumes  had  long  been 
absent.  They  had  been  worn  out,  lost,  or  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  persons  who  liked  them  so  well  that  they 
thought  they  owned  them.  To  many  people  these  rem- 
nants had  become  typical  "school  libraries,"  and  the  preju- 
dice against  them  forced  the  advocates  of  a  new  law  to  con- 
sent to  an  imperfect  statute  which  has  gone  limpingly  to  its 
work. 

The  law  of  1887,  known  as  the  "township  library  law," 
authorized  town  treasurers,  when  apportioning  the  school 
fund  income  among  the  districts  of  their  respective  towns, 

410 


SCHOOL  LIBRARIES   IN   WISCONSIN.  411 

to  withhold  ten  cents  for  each  person  of  school  age  for  the 
purchase  of  a  town  library.  The  expenditure  of  these 
moneys  was  given  to  the  town  clerks,  wlio  were  required  to 
distribute  the  books  purchased  among  the  several  districts, 
in  proportion  to  the  amounts  withheld  from  them,  and  were 
authorized  to  collect  and  re-distribute  these  volumes  "to  the 
end  that  each  district  may  have  the  use  of  all  the  books 
purchased." 

During  the  first  five  years  of  the  operation  of  the  law 
the  number  of  towns  which  purchased  libraries  steadily  in- 
creased. Four  hundred  and  seventy-eight  towns,  whicli  in- 
clude fully  one-half  of  the  districts,  have  bought  one  or  more 
times.  Seventy-three  of  those  which  purchased  before  1891 
bought  but  once,  while  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  pur- 
chased three  or  more  times.  This  fact  goes  far  to  prove  that 
the  people  are  pleased  with  the  results  of  the  law,  where 
they  have  had  a  fair  chance  to  test  it. 

It  is  tlie  duty  of  the  state  superintendent,  under  tViis 
law,  to  publish  a  list  of  books  from  which  the  town  clerks, 
with  the  aid  of  the  county  superintendents,  are  to  make  their 
selections.  The  lists  published  in  the  years  1887  to  1890, 
inclusive,  gave  the  titles  of  a  large  number  of  books,  and 
included  volumes  for  all  grades  of  pupils,  from  the  primary 
to  the  high  school.  These  books  were  carefully  classified, 
and  town  clerks  were  urged  to  buy  mainly  from  the  lists  for 
the  lower  grades.  Unfortunately  some  of  them  argued  that 
they  could  force  the  children  to  read  the  histories  and  scien- 
tific books  recommended  for  high  schools  by  putting  little 
else  in  the  libraries.  In  the  towns  where  such  selections 
were  made,  a  prejudice  arose  which  it  is  difficult  to  over- 
come. Few  town  clerks  were  willing  to  assume  the  labor  of 
collecting  and  redistributing  the  books,  and  the  dislike  of  in- 
curring this  labor  frequently  operated  as  a  bar  to  prevent 
these  officers  from  advocating  compliance  with  the  law.  In 
four  cases  out  of  five  the  books  remained  indefinitely  in  the 
districts  to  which  they  were  first  sent.  These  facts  led  to 
a  change,  in  1891,  in  the  list  of  books  recommended  by  the 
state  superintendent.  The  list  selected  for  town  clerks  was 
carefully  winnowed,  and  these  officers  were  advised  to  buy 
enough  copies  of  the  choicest  books  for  school  use  to  make  a 
small  library  for  each  school.  Thus,  if  there  were  ten  dis- 
tricts in  a  town,  each  district  would  secure  a  set  of  the  "Young 
Folks'  Cyclopedias, "  and  single  copies  of  "  Seven  Little 
Sisters  "  and  its  sequel,  Eggleston's  "  First  Book  in  American 


412  SCHOOL   LIBRARIES   IN   WISCONSIN. 

History,"  Scudder's  *•' Fables  and  Folk  Stories,"  Wood's 
simple  "  Natural  History  Readers,"  and  others  which  the 
consensus  of  opinion  among  teachers  had  shown  to  be  so  help- 
ful that  each  school  needed  them  for  almost  daily  use.  Forty 
volumes  of  the  most  interesting  and  helpful  books  for  young 
people  were  added  to  give  opportunity  for  selections.  Under 
this  plan  2,000  copies  of  the  "Young  Folks' Cyclopedias " 
were  put  into  the  schools  of  the  state  in  1891.  To  one  who 
has  used  these  books  with  children,  in  the  family  or  the 
school,  this  fact  alone  will  stand  as  strong  evidence  of 
the  value  of  the  law.  The  change  proved  a  happy  one  in 
many  ways,  and  the  results  have  made  new  friends  for  the 
movement  in  behalf  of  school  libraries,  who  are  doing 
effective  work  in  nearly  every  county. 

The  results  of  the  law  cannot  be  fairly  measured  by  the 
statistics,  which  show  only  the  number  of  towns  which  have 
taken  advantage  of  it.  Its  advocates  have  felt  that  the  best 
results  could  only  come  as  teachers  were  trained  to  use  the 
books  wisely,  and  therefore  there  has  been  a  persistent  effort 
to  give  this  training.  In  teachers'  institutes  and  meetings, 
through  educational  journals,  and  by  official  pamphlets  and 
circulars,  the  leading  educators  and  the  state  department  of 
public  instruction  have  united  to  disseminate  information  as 
to  the  best  books  and  their  uses.  The  zeal  of  teachers,  thus 
aroused,  has  led  to  the  purchase  of  scores  of  small  libraries 
by  districts  in  localities  where  the  town  officers  would  not 
take  the  responsibility  of  establishing  town  libraries. 

While  the  law  does  not  apply  to  cities  and  villages,  the 
interest  which  it  has  excited  has  been  so  strong  as  to  cause 
nearly  all  of  them  to  purchase  more  books  than  formerl}'. 
The  discussion  as  to  the  best  books  has  also  aided  them  to 
purchase  more  intelligently. 

While  the  "  township  library  law  "is  by  no  means  per- 
fect, it  has  been  the  means  of  placing  at  least  3,000  good, 
though  small,  libraries  in  the  country  schools ;  it  has  stimu- 
lated hundreds  of  people  to  a  more  intelligent  study  of 
children's  reading,  and  has  created  a  public  sentiment  that 
will  secure  more  effective  laws  and  a  better  use  of  them  in 
the  future. 

F.    A.    HUTCHINS. 


Free    City  Libraries. 


Since  1876  Wisconsin  lias  bad  an  excellent  law  for  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  free  city  and  village 
libraries.  The  bill  enacted  into  law  at  that  time  was  pre- 
pared by  the  American  Library  Association. 

It  provides  that  the  common  council  of  a  city,  or  the 
board  of  a  village,  may  submit  to  a  popular  vote  the  question 
of  establishing  and  maintaining  a  local  library.  If  a  favor- 
able result  is  secured  an  annual  tax,  not  to  exceed  one  mill 
on  a  dollar  of  the  taxable  property,  may  be  levied  for  library 
purposes.  The  control  of  such  libraries  is  vested  in  a  board 
of  nine  directors,  whose  members  are  appointed  by  the  mayor 
or  the  president  of  the  village  board,  subject  to  confirmation 
by  the  council  or  board.  These  directors  are  divided  into 
three  classes  and  each  class  holds  for  a  term  of  three  years. 

Every  library  and  reading-room  established  under  the  act 
must  "be  forever  free  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
city,  town  or  village  where  located,  always  subject  to  such 
reasonable  rules  and  regulations  as  the  library  board  may 
find  it  necessary  to  adopt  and  publish,  in  order  to  render  the 
use  of  said  library  and  reading-room  of  the  greatest  good  to 
the  greatest  number."  The  liberal  spirit  that  inspired  the 
last  provision  has  shaped  the  management  of  the  libraries 
founded  under  it,  and  has  made  them  worthy  models  for  those 
that  may  be  established  in  the  future. 

In  older  communities  and  states  most  of  the  libraries 
have  been  fettered  by  traditions  and  prejudices.  Too  often 
they  have  seemed  to  be  held  in  trust  for  book-worms  and  men 
of  scholarly  habits,  the  shelves  have  been  jealously  guarded, 
and  working  people  and  children  have  not  found  in  their 
hushed  cloisters  a  constant  temptation  to  enter  the  fairer  fields 
of  literature.  The  thought  that  a  library,  supported  by  the 
public,  should,  first  of  all,  be  an  educator  of  the  masses,  win- 
ning patronage  by  every  fair  art,  inviting  confidence,  making 
its  treasures  free  and  accessible  to  the  poor  and  ignorant,  and 
leading  them  to  feel  a  sense  of  ownership  and  pride  in  its 
possessions,  has  been  too  often  lost  under  a  mass  of  traditions 
relating  to  the  necessity  of  rigid  rules  for  its  conduct.     Our 

413 


414  FREE   CITY   LIBRARIES. 

library  boards  have  been  met  at  the  outset  of  their  work  by 
the  injunction  of  the  state  to  make  rules  and  regulations  ''to 
render  the  use  of  the  library  and  reading-room  of  the  great- 
est benefit  to  the  greatest  number." 

In  addition  to  the  libraries  established  under  the  state 
law  a  few  have  been  founded  by  private  beneficence,  but 
these  have  been  influenced  by  the  generous  spirit  of  the  law, 
and  the  Washburn  library  at  La  Crosse,  the  Vaughn  library 
at  Ashland  and  the  Scott  library  at  Merrill  have  been  as  free 
as  the  libraries  in  Milwaukee  and  Fond  du  Lac. 

At  first  most  of  our  libraries  issued  cards  to  draw  books 
only  to  persons  fourteen  years  of  age  or  older,  and  3'^ounger 
children  could  get  volumes  only  upon  the  cards  of  their 
parents  or  friends.  Many  libraries  have  recently  relaxed 
their  rules  so  far  as  to  allow  all  children  twelve  years  of  age 
or  older  to  hold  their  own  cards.  In  Milwaukee  small  col- 
lections of  books  are  sent  to  the  public  schools  and  loaned  to 
the  pupils  by  the  teachers. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  deal  mainly  with 
the  founding  and  history  of  individual  libraries.  The  tables 
presented  below  give  the  important  facts  in  connection  with 
each  library,  and  the  special  articles  upon  the  Milwaukee 
public  library  and  the  great  collections  of  the  state  historical 
society  give  the  history  of  the  institutions  which  have  more 
than  a  local  interest.  It  is  thought  more  useful  to  show  the 
best,  safest  and  most  practicable  lines  of  library  growth  and 
development,  with  the  hope  of  aiding  and  inspiring  com- 
munities which  ought  to  found  them. 

There  lies  in  the  popular  heart  a  deep-rooted  conviction 
of  the  value  of  free  libraries,  and  every  community  which 
lacks  this  blessing  mourns  its  want  of  opportunities.  There 
are  tew  villages  or  cities  which  cannot  show  a  record  of  efforts 
to  establish  a  local  library,  and  the  state  is  dotted  with  the 
wrecks  of  such  institutions,  which  were  started  with  bright 
hopes.  The  failure  of  these  efforts  is  to  be  attributed,  in  the 
main,  to  the  want  of  a  proper  understanding  of  the  first  mis- 
sion of  such  libraries,  and  an  unwillingness  to  start  in  a 
small  way  and  develop  along  natural  lines. 

A  public  library  should  be  established  vvith  the  primary 
purpose  of  educating  the  children  and  then  of  helping  the 
masses.  It  should  present,  first,  a  list  of  wholesome  books 
— good  in  matter  and  style — which  experience  has  proved 
are  interesting  to  children  and  to  the  every-day  people. 
When  the  interest  of  the  masses  has  been  caught  and  fastened 


416  FREE   CITY   LIBRARIES. 

the  process  of  education  can  be  hopefully  begun  and  fol- 
lowed. Too  often  the  first  small  list  of  books  purchased  for 
a  library  includes  only  the  great  books  of  the  language,  and 
the  untrained  people  who  come  to  it  for  instruction  and  in- 
spiration become  discouraged.  The  first  purchase  should 
include  a  large  proportion  of  interesting  books  for  children, 
for  the  following  reasons : 

1.  The  love  of  good  reading  is  far  more  easily  estab- 
lished in  childhood  than  in  later  life. 

2.  It  is  through  the  children  that  the  homes  are  most 
easily  reached.  When  the  child  has  been  helped  by  the 
library  the  parents  and  family  become  attached  to  it  by  the 
strongest  ties. 

3.  The  great  books  for  children  are  frequently  the  best 
books  to  start  the  reading  habit  in  older  people. 

Any  librarian  of  experience  can  offer  many  illustrations 
of  the  truth  of  these  facts.  It  is  very  common  to  hear  a 
father  complaining :  "  I  must  stop  my  boy  from  getting  books 
at  the  library.  He  reads  late  every  evening,"  but  the  ring 
of  gratified  pride  in  the  tones  belies  the  apparent  complaint 
in  the  words.  Every  father  is  proud  of  his  son's  delight  in 
good  books,  and  the  more  ignorant  the  parent,  the  greater 
the  pride.  It  frequently  happens,  too,  that  a  boy  will  return 
to  the  library  a  book  like  the  "  Boys  of  76,"  with  the  remark, 
"My  father  wants  another  book  by  the  same  man." 

Libraries  with  limited  resources  are  frequently  dragged 
to  an  early  dissolution  by  a  reading-room  attachment.  Such 
rooms  are  expensive,  and  drain  the  library,  when  its  most 
urgent  need  is  to  keep  ahead  of  its  patrons  by  frequent 
purchases  of  small  lots  of  fresh  books.  A  library  in  a  small 
town  will  meet  all  demands  at  first  if  kept  open  two  or  three 
afternoons  and  evenings  of  each  week.  A  reading-room  is 
expected  to  be  open  every  day.  This  involves  additional 
expense  for  librarian's  salary,  for  fuel  and  light,  besides  the 
cost  of  newspapers  and  periodicals.  "  But,"  so  many  good 
people  will  say,  "  we  want  something  to  keep  the  boys  out 
of  the  streets."  Then  give  them  books  so  interesting  that 
they  will  stay  at  home  to  read  them.  Teach  them,  first,  to 
read  books.  Papers  and  periodicals  should  be  secondary  to 
books.  The  reading-room  should  be  secondary  to  the  home. 
Commence  your  work  aright,  and  when  you  expand  to  the 
reading-room  it  will  take  its  proper  place. 

Many  towns  in  the  state  are  waiting  for  some  wealthy 
citizen  to  build  and  endow  a  local  library.     Libraries  thus 


FREE   CIT\*  LIBRARIES.  417 

founded  are  not  the  best.  The  library  that  grows  out  of  the 
sacrifices  of  the  people — the  one  which  they  unitedly  labor 
for — is  the  most  efficient.  When,  from  small  beginnings, 
they  have  gained  a  fair  library,  when  they  have  learned  by 
experience  to  manage  it  wisely,  it  will  attract  gifts. 

As  an  illustration  of  this,  the  history  of  the  Williams 
free  library'  at  Beaver  Dam  may  be  used.  It  is  taken  because 
the  writer  is  more  familiar  with  it  than  with  any  other.  In 
1884  Beaver  Dam  had  a  population  of  somewhat  less  than 
4,000.  A  number  of  fruitless  efforts  had  been  made  to  estab- 
lish a  library.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  a  number  of 
citizens  met  to  discuss  the  advisability  of  getting  a  vote  on 
the  question  of  establishing  a  library  under  the  state  law. 
It  was  finally  agreed  that  such  a  proposition  would  be 
defeated  unless  public  sentiment  could  be  educated  by  a  prac- 
tical illustration  of  the  blessings  flowing  from  such  a  library. 
A  popular  subscription  of  Sl,200  was  raised,  the  individual 
subscriptions  ranging  from  ^2  to  $50 ;  the  use,  rent  free,  of  a 
room  in  the  city  hall  was  obtained  ;  $700  was  expended  in 
books  and  a  library  was  opened  on  the  first  day  of  Decem- 
ber. The  room  was  opened  two  afternoons  and  evenings  of 
each  week.  It  was  free,  and  people  were  not  only  invited 
but  urged  to  draw  books.  The  superintendent  of  schools 
secured  the  active  co-operation  of  the  teachers,  and  thus  the 
children  carried  the  books  into  many  homes  which  could  not 
be  reached  by  other  means.  After  four  months  of  this  object 
teaching,  in  April,  1885,  the  citizens,  by  a  vote  of  two  to  one, 
decided  to  accept  and  maintain  this  library  as  their  own. 

It  soon  became  necessary  to  keep  the  library  open  three 
afternoons  and  three  evenings  of  each  week  and  Saturday 
mornings.  Societies  for  active  library  work  were  formed  and 
a  reference  department  began  to  grow.  Children  and  their 
elders  were  allowed  a(!cess  to  the  shelves,  and  tables  were 
placed  to  give  all  opportunities  for  study.  With  a  few  lead- 
ers general  reading  gave  place  to  study,  and  habits  of  inde- 
pendent research  were  developed.  The  use  of  indexes  and 
of  the  best  reference  books  became  more  common,  and  fellow- 
students  learned  from  each  other  how  to  glean  needed  knowl- 
edge more  quickly  and  accurately. 

The  room  became  crowded,  and,  in  1886,  the  common  coun- 
cil, in  addition  to  levying  the  annual  tax,  purchased  a  build- 
ing adjoining  the  city  hall,  and  gave  the  library  the  use  of  a 
much  larger  room.  The  children  drew  their  parents  in  in- 
creasing numbers,  and  the  wider  demand  made  larger  acces. 


418  FREE   CITY   LIBRARIES. 

sions  of  books  necessary.  In  four  years  this  room  was  fre- 
quently too  crowded  for  comfortable  work. 

In  April,  1890,  one  of  the  leading  citizens,  Hon.  J.  J. 
Williams,  who  had  been  quietly  watching  the  loving  care 
with  which  the  poor  boys  and  girls  carried  the  books  to  and 
from  the  library,  said  to  the  board  of  directors:  "  If  you  will 
secure  a  suitable  site,  I  will  expend  $25,000  in  erecting  a 
library  building  and  give  it  to  the  city."  The  offer  was 
quickly  accepted,  and  an  excellent  site,  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  was  bought  by  the  common  council  at  a  cost  $12,200. 
The  vote  to  make  this  purchase  was  unanimous  and  hearty 
and  was  cordially  endorsed  by  the  citizens.  Before  the  build- 
ing was  completed  another  citizen,  William  Drown,  Esq.,  had 
left  to  the  library,  at  his  death,  $10,000  as  an  endowment. 
And  thus  through  the  influences  of  its  own  kindly  benefi- 
cences this  library  won,  in  one  year,  $47,000  in  cheerful  gifts 
besides  the  annual  tax  levy.  Five  times  this  sum  given  with- 
out the  aid  and  co-operation  of  the  people  would  not  have 
made  this  institution,  of  so  much  worth  to  the  mass  of 
citizens. 

While  a  grateful  public  has  inscribed  on  the  beautiful 
building  "  Williams  Free  Library,"  and  has  placed  a  tablet 
in  its  portals  to  the  memory  of  Mr.  Drown,  it  still  feels  a 
sense  of  ownership  and  a  pride  of  possession  that  make  its 
halls  and  treasures  a  common  property  and  a  common 
blessing. 

"  Things  that  grow  are  best."  The  tree  planted  in  the 
home  yard  by  the  family  and  watched  and  nurtured  by 
their  loving  care,  has  a  beauty  and  blessing  more  constant 
and  fruitful  than  that  of  the  statelier  monarch  of  the  forest. 

The  best  of  all  libraries  is  a  collection  of  choice  books  in 
the  home,  where  the  volumes  greet  the  eye  daily  and  stand 
as  constant  incentives  to  reading.  The  public  library  should 
approach  this  ideal  as  closely  as  possible.  Except  in  the 
largest  cities  its  shelves  should  be  open  and  accessible  to 
every  boy  and  girl.  Children  should  browse  among  the 
books  and  learn  to  select  their  reading ;  they  should  be 
given  an  opportunity  to  learn  something  of  many  books 
which  they  have  not  the  time  to  read.  They  should  be  wel- 
comed as  students  and  taught  to  bring  the  problems  of  the 
home  and  school.  They  should  be  trained  to  get  from  books 
the  fact  they  need  at  the  tiine  they  need  it ;  to  enjoy  the  mas- 
terpieces of  the  bookmaker's  art ;  to  handle  books  carefully. 
They  should  be  encouraged  in  the  study  of  subjects  for  which 


FREE   CITY   LIBRARIES.  419 

they  have  special  aptitudes,  whether  these  may  be  in  the 
higher  forms  of  literature  and  art,  or  whether  they  relate  to 
the  practical  processes  by  which  mechanics  earn  their  live- 
lihood. 

The  librarian  should  not  be  a  mere  keeper  of  books. 
Money  saved  by  employing  a  forceless  man  or  woman  is 
worse  than  wasted.  The  librarian  should  be  a  leader  and 
teacher.  He  should  be  earnest,  intelligent,  enthusiastic  and 
pleasant,  able  to  win  the  confidence  of  children  and  wise  to 
lead  them  by  easy  stages  from  good  books  to  the  best  and  to 
train  them  to  habits  of  intelligent  study  and  investigation. 
He  has  the  greatest  opportunity  of  any  teacher  in  the  com- 
munity and  should  be  the  teacher  of  teachers — making  his 
library  not  only  a  school  for  the  young,  but  a  college  for  the 
older  people — a  constant  center  of  educational  activity  that 
shall  make  wholesome  and  inspiring  themes  the  burden  of 
the  common  thought. 

The  prospect  for  future  library  growth  in  Wisconsin  is 
hopeful.  The  progressive  spirit  that  is  founding  libraries 
and  leading  them  into  broader  lines  of  usefulness  in  other 
parts  of  the  nation  is  felt  within  our  borders.  Our  growing 
school  libraries  are  educating  a  generation  that  will  demand 
more  libraries  and  be  able  to  use  them  more  wisely.  Teach- 
ers are  anxiously  inquiring  how  they  may  secure  good  libra- 
ries and  use  them  most  profitably.  Our  list  of  libraries  is 
annually  increasing.  A  better  public  sentiment  is  steadily 
gaining  ground.  The  collections  of  our  state  historical  so- 
ciety have  grown  to  be  the  subject  of  a  worthy  state  pride. 
The  chief  city  of  the  state  is  about  to  erect  a  public  library 
building  that  will  be  noteworthy  among  the  public  edifices 
of  the  state.  The  state  university  and  the  normal  schools 
are  rapidly  making  their  libraries  more  eflflcient  agencies  in 
the  training  of  their  students. 

A  state  library  association  was  formed  at  Madison,  Febru- 
ary 11th,  1891,  "to  promote  the  library  interests  of  the  state 
of  Wisconsin."  March  11th  of  the  same  year  the  first 
annual  conference  w^as  held  at  the  same  place.  There  was  a 
fair  attendance  of  librarians  and  directors  of  libraries,  and 
some  interestir)g  and  helpful  discussions.  The  association 
has  done  some  work  in  aiding  a  few  small  communities  in 
establishing  libraries. 


420 


FREE   CITY   LIBRARIES. 


03  ^iHH 


ed  O 


^  3 


op 
«-3 


-•ODOOXOD'MWOQaicn 

>oa)a>(va>o<va>a>aia> 
'  !z;  1^  ^  ?H  ><  ;z;  ><><><  K"  P« 


eoooSo>oo>c>i~u5coo< 

OT  ttOOiOO  oco  Mrroo  ^< 

1-1         O)  mn  CO  IM  1-1  r-i  r-l         1-1  C 


wot «_oc  -         .         _         . 
>o  (N 1-"  o  lO  ^^' c^^  TT  «  oT  CO  ■ 


«•••*•••  H — I — 1— 

t^OOO0C/OO«OOQ 

0005  —  oo«50".';o 
tC'»coO'^oa)_t^3icoio 

i-H         COiOOOC^r-i"  'O* 


'^eoxooiat^-^ios^ooooo 

5  l^  00   JL  I^  I  -  1^  QO  X  ~-  00  05  00 

JoOOOOOaOOCOOOOJCOOOCOCOO 


SOS  a  a—  2  3  (u  D  i?j3 


25 


a>.3 
r''3 


••3S  3    ••'^.S  4'-<l' 

5sg^^'-i1si«3a5 


<V  60 

-H 

M)C     . 

2 

SS'2 

§<3 

0 

->;  (u  t^ 

wSg 

p 

K,-.-lB 

S 

0 

Q 

ei 

{«    :?H 


rn    :    : 

P3 

H 

III 

in 

t^c^  c^ 

•^ 

C 

"3  6-= 


i  <ii 
':  3 

«  e  5 
g.3  C 

'^    t.V-1 

3—  " 

000 


32 


3s 

o  .- 

3  0) 


.a 

x  o 

oi  3 


FREE   CITY    LIBRARIES. 


421 


^ 


ssri 


a>  fi  a  -a 


S.6 


2  o  ° 
»  o 


OO  OD  ODOO 


sggs 


O  <tl  o  o 


w 

>»03; 

c! 

sac* 

w 

g-§|| 

S! 

S£2"o 

3  3'§ 


g  5.  ,3;  3!  S  1 


00:    oooogpc 


ooQoocac*    00 00 go 00 OD Qc 00 


>  !>  S  o  3;  ^1  cjt 

>  03  to  ic  c;i  cc  01 


-     _3  QOC-   _     

O*  01  C71  0%  C)  1^  t^ 
CO  i->  4^  >J  CO  ~J  00 


CO  CfV  05  te  ^_hc  ojo  OS  CO  Oi  00  00 

o  5  C-.  ^  k"r 


*  o  o  s  r;  2  ^'  : 


)  00  O  CiO  o  o 


oo.».oooooc*.oo5Kooo5 


*-0  ;    00:0 


Sen 


oceo 

888 


2:    So 
C3.     00 


<!? 


2> 

■-I  p 


Milwaukee  Public  Library. 


Dr.  Holmes  opens  "Our  Hundred  Days  in  Europe"  with 
a  striking  summing  up  of  the  changes  which  fifty  years  had 
made  in  the  Europe  which  he  first  saw  as  a  young  medical 
student.  Such  a  period  gives  the  necessary  perspective  to 
enable  us  to  better  measure  the  heights  really  won  in  the 
slow  step  by  step  climbing  through  the  years.  The  date 
of  Dr.  Holmes'  first  visit  to  Europe,.  1836,  was  the  year  in 
which  the  first  statistics  concerning  libraries  in  the  United 
States  were  published,  and  that  year  may  be  said  to  be  the 
dawn  of  the  new  era  in  the  library  world.  For  it  is  a  per- 
fectly recognized  fact  that  the  United  States  have  led  the 
world  in  the  new  thought  about  what  is  the  true  work  of  a 
public  library. 

Perhaps  no  more  significant  change  would  be  seen  in  a 
long  look  backward  over  the  progress  of  the  educational 
world,  as  Dr.  Holmes  looked  back  over  political  and  scien- 
tific Europe,  than  the  contrast  between  the  old  facts  and  the 
new  ideals  of  a  public  library.  The  old  library  has  been 
likened  to  a  cistern  wiiich  collects  and  preserves,  and  from 
which,  given  a  certain  amount  of  determination,  one  may 
draw  water  for  use.  But  at  best  the  reservoir  is  hidden  and 
dull  and  stagnant.  The  ideal  library  of  to-day  is  a  true 
fountain,  which  pours  its  waters  freely  out  into  the  sunlight, 
flashing  an  invitation  to  whosoever  will  to  come. 

The  two  thoughts  are  but  the  natural,  legitimate  out- 
growth of  the  different  times,  and  the  reason  for  the  ideal  has, 
partly  at  least,  a  material  basis.  The  old  library  was  the 
child  of  the  cloisters,  born  when  books  were  rare  and  precious, 
the  result  of  toilsome,  expensive  processes.  The  new  library  is 
the  child  of  the  steam  printing  press  and  nurtured  by  all  its 
allies,  the  reproductive  graphic  processes.  The  central  idea 
of  the  old  was  to  preserve  the  books.  The  central  idea  to- 
day is  to  help  mankind  into  fuller,  freer,  more  perfect  life. 

Not  quite  fifty  years  ago,  and  yet  before  the  new  library 
day  was  far  advanced,  there  came  into  existence  the  library 
of  which  the  Milwaukee  public  library  is  the  direct  heir.  In 
1847,  the  year  succeeding  the  incorporation  of  the  city,  on  the 

422 


MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC  LIBRARY.  423 

night  of  December  eighth,  a  group  of  young  men  met  in  the 
parlors  of  the  United  States  hotel  to  take  the  first  step  to- 
ward the  organization  of  the  young  men's  association  library. 
S.  Osgood  Putnam  was  chairman  of  the  meeting,  Edward  P. 
Allis,  secretary,  and  John  H.  Van  Dyke,  Edward  D.  Holton, 
H.  W.  Tenney,  Garret  Vliet  and  I.  M.  Mason  were,  with  the 
chairman,  the  committee  to  draft  the  constitution  for  the  em- 
bryo society. 

The  early  records  of  the  association  have  nearly  all 
disappeared,  having  probably  been  lost  in  the  hands 
of  some  secretary  who  did  not  realize  that  time  to 
come  might  find  interest  in  what,  to  him,  was  a 
small  affair.  The  first  annual  report  still  remains, 
having  been  printed  as  an  introduction  to  the  first  publica- 
tion of  the  society.  This  document  was  a  pamphlet  of 
twenty-six  pages  all  told,  from  cover  to  cover,  and  contained, 
besides  the  report,  the  constitution  of  the  society,  list  of 
officers,  by-laws  of  the  library  and  reading-room,  and  the 
first  catalogue. 

The  report  is  a  curiosity  in  several  respects.  The  board 
of  directors  evidently  felt  their  responsibility  and,  not  hav- 
ing met  with  that  enthusiastic  response  which  their  efforts 
certainly  merited,  began  thus  early  that  complaint  which 
seems  to  have  echoed  down  all  the  decades  since,  that  "  the 
citizens  of  Milwaukee  were  slow,  apathetic,  lacking  in  interest 
for  what  is  for  the  intellectual  good  of  the  city."  It  seems, 
however,  that  this  reproach  was  hardly  merited  in  this  matter, 
and  is  perhaps  the  fitter  prototype  of  later  ones.  This 
pamphlet  bears  the  date  1848. 

In  1849  Prof.  Charles  C.  Jewett  made  his  first  oflBcial 
report  to  the  Smithsonian  institution  on  the  libraries  of  the 
United  States.  Only  154  institutions  are  mentioned  and 
the  young  men's  association  library  is  one  of  them, 
noted  as  having  1,000  volumes.  No  institutions  of  the  kind 
report  from  the  sister  cities  Chicago,  Cincinnati  or  Cleveland. 
The  Boston  Public,  the  great  mother  of  American  public 
libraries,  was  not  opened  until  1854. 

A  touch  in  the  report  which  opens  up  a  vista  of  differ- 
ent conditions  and  surroundings  is  in  the  plea  which  the 
directors  make  for  one  thousand  dollars,  to  be  used  to  buy 
books,  which  they  wish  to  raise  "before  the  opening  of  navi- 
gation." What  a  picture  of  the  little,  isolated,  ice-bound  city 
this  conjures  up!  March  8,  1852,  the  association  was  incor- 
porated, and  again,  as  is  the  case  of  the  first  committee,  the 


424  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   LIBRARY. 

roll  of  names  of  the  incorporators  has  a  very  familiar 
sound.  Henry  \V.  Tenney,  Martin  J.  Burke,  Benjamin  K. 
Miller,  William  J.  Bell,  John  P.  McGregor,  John  K.  Bartlett, 
Charles  F.  Ilsley,  Joshua  Stark,  Winfield  Smith,  Henry  J. 
Nazro  and  Robert  Menzies  are  the  specified  incorporators, 
and  how  many  of  them  have  since  been  identified  with 
every  movement  for  the  intellectual  and  moral  upbuilding 
of  the  city.  From  this  time  on  to  about  1867  the  society 
seems  to  have  led  a  prosperous  existence.  At  first  it  depended 
entirely  upon  the  membership  fees  for  its  income.  Later, 
courses  of  lectures  were  organized  whose  proceeds  filled  the 
coffers  of  the  society,  while  the  lectures  were  among  the 
principal  events  in  the  life  of  the  growing  city. 

After  1867  came  a  period  of  discouragement  and  debt. 
The  prestige  of  the  lecture  platform  had  waned,  over  all  the 
country ;  the  association  had  no  endowment,  and  the  mem- 
bership fees  were  not  adequate  to  the  running  expenses. 
Many  spasmodic  efforts  were  made,  and  again  and  again 
the  society  would  clear  itself  of  debt  only  to  fall  back  again 
as  the  interest  cooled.  For  about  ten  years  the  library  led  a 
very  hand-to-mouth  existence,the  new  purchases  not  filling  up 
the  gaps  caused  by  books  lost  and  worn  out.  It  is  a  rather 
remarkable  fact  that  the  losses  in  books  in  the  public  lib- 
rary to-day  are  far  less  than  were  endured  by  the  association 
at  this  time.  It  is  one  more  striking  illustration  that  "the 
public  may  be  trusted  to  care  for  what  is  intended  for  the 
public  enjoyment,"  to  quote  the  famous  sign  in  the  French 
parks. 

In  1876,  owing  to  various  causes,  to  no  other  single  one 
so  much  probably  as  to  the  congress  of  librarians  held  at 
Philadelphia,  a  distinct  movement  was  felt  all  over  the 
country  in  favor  of  free  city  libraries.  Milwaukee,  too,  felt 
the  impulse.  But  not  until  the  fall  of  1877  was  the  first 
open  suggestion  made  that  the  young  men's  association 
should  transfer  its  books  to  the  city,  in  trust,  as  the  founda- 
tion of  a  free  municipal  library.  The  time  was  ripe,  but 
still  much  work  for  the  good  cause  was  done,  in  season  and 
out  of  season,  by  friends  of  the  movement.  Outside  of  the 
directors  of  the  young  men's  association  no  one  did  more 
efficient  service  than  the  Nestor  of  the  present  library  board, 
General  Harrison  C.  Hobart,  then  a  prominent  member  of 
the  city  council. 

The  enabling  acts  were  passed  by  the  legislature  of 
that  winter;  and  in  March,  1878,  the  city  formally  took  pos- 


SHLWAUKEE   PUBLIC  LIBRARY.  425 

session  of  the  library.  The  first  board  of  trustees,  as  organ- 
ized under  the  act,  were  the  four  citizens-at-large,  Messrs. 
Matthew  Keenan,  John  Johnston,  Gustavo  C.  Trumpff  and 
William  Frankfurth ;  Aldermen  G.  E.  Weiss,  W.  E.  Kitt- 
redge  and  Thomas  H.  Brown ;  the  president  of  the  school 
board,  Joshua  Stark,  and  the  superintendent  of  schools,  James 
MacAlister.  Among  the  first  acts  of  the  new  board  was  the 
ordering  of  an  inventory,  and  this  inventory  accounted  for 
9,958  bound  books  which  were  thus  given  to  the  city.  The 
rooms  in  the  Academy  of  Music  building,  on  Milwaukee 
street,  were  retained  until  May,  1880,  when  the  young  library 
had  far  outgrown  them.  The  rooms  in  the  Library  block, 
on  Grand  avenue,  which  are  still  occupied,  were  rented;  and 
the  library,  consisting  then  of  about  15,000  volumes,  was 
moved  in. 

The  growth  of  the  public  library  during  the  fifteen 
years  of  its  existence  has  been  steady  and  wholesome.  The 
fact  that  it  now  has  65,000  volumes  which  have  been  se- 
lected by  a  catholic,  yet  scholarly  taste,  and  that  its  circula- 
tion is  now  counted  by  the  hundred  thousand,  tells  very 
little  of  its  true  growth  and  power.  The  best  growth  and 
power  of  a  public  library  is  never  to  be  measured,  even 
approximately,  by  the  numbers  of  volumes  on  the  shelves, 
but  far  more  justly  by  the  success  it  has  in  reaching  into 
and  influencing  the  homes  of  the  people.  It  is  as  danger- 
ous for  library  officials  to  fall  into  a  ruling  ambition  to  swell 
the  number  of  volumes  as  it  is  for  teachers  to  measure  the 
success  of  the  school,  necessarily,  by  the  number  of  pupils 
graduated;  and  for  much  the  same  reasons. 

For  instance,  in  the  work  of  the  reference  room  it  is  not 
possible  to  gather  statistics  without  seriously  crippling  the 
freedom  with  which  the  books  are  used.  When  the  Milwau- 
kee public  library  first  threw  its  reference  shelves  absolutely 
open  to  visitors,  with  simply  the  check  of  the  presence  of  an 
attendant  in  the  room,  it  was  regarded  as  a  somewhat  radical 
and  dangerous  step.  The  recent  inventory  shows  the  loss 
of  but  six  books  in  ten  years.  The  officials  look  forward 
now  with  hope  to  the  time  when  the  rooms  of  the  library 
may  be  such  as  to  make  it  possible  to  throw  open  the  shelves 
of  the  whole  library,  for  some  hours  of  the  day,  at  least,  to 
any  visitor.  This  experiment  is  being  tried  in  the  public 
libraries  of  Cleveland  and  Minneapolis,  and  is  being  watched 
with  the  greatest  interest  in  the  libraries  throughout  the 
country.     The  vision  of  librarians  is  that  this  innovation  may 


426  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   LIBRARY. 

help,  by  doing  away  with  mucli  of  the  routine  work,  to  bring 
on  the  day  when  much  more  personal  assistance  may  be 
given  to  visitors.  This,  as  every  other  educational  or  phil- 
anthropic work,  fails  of  its  best  results  by  being  forced  to  deal 
with  masses,  not  individuals.  The  intelligent,  patient  help 
of  an  attendant  who  knows  the  library  is  far  more  satisfactory 
in  most  cases  than  any  printed  catalogue,  however  full,  lucid 
and  well  arranged." 

To  the  student  the  catalogue  is  a  convenient  tool,  satis- 
factory to  the  extent  that  it  is  explicit  and  exact.  To  the 
unlearned,  and  after  all  it  is  to  the  unlearned  that  public 
libraries  are  chiefly  addressed,  any  catalogue  is  apt  to  be  a 
labyrinth  in  whose  mazes  time  and  patience  are  lost.  The 
main  catalogue  of  this  library  was  published  in  1885  and 
contains  about  thirty  thousand  of  the  books.  The  material 
is  well  in  hand  for  the  publication  of  a  supplement,  on  the 
same  lines  of  construction,  which  will  bring  the  record  of  the 
resources  of  the  library  up  to  date.  Some  few  experiments 
have  been  made  in  a  direction  that  well  repays  all  the  effort 
extended,  viz.:  the  preparation  of  special  lists  containing 
references  to  all  the  accessible  literature  on  given  subjects  of 
popular  interest.  But  time  and  strength  may  be  lavished  to 
an  almost  incredible  extent  in  this  wav,  for  "  the  field  is  the 
world." 

In  one  department  we  already  reach,  by  the  help  of  the 
teachers,  some  small  part  of  our  public  in  the  personal  way 
whicli  we  desire.  Any  teacher  is  gladly  welcomed  to  the 
library,  where  she  may  select,  havmg  free  access  to  tlie 
shelves,  books  enough  to  supply  her  class.  These  books  are 
sent  to  the  school  and  there  issued  to  the  children.  The 
success  of  the  plan  is  limited  only  by  the  strength  and  en- 
thusiasm which  the  teacher,  ordinarily  overburdened  with 
routine  duties,  has  left  to  put  into  the  work.  It  is  here,  per- 
haps, that  the  touch  between  the  library  and  the  school  may 
be  closest.  It  is  here  that  the  school  may  help  the  library  to 
carry  on  work  that  it  must  itself  drop.  School  statistics  show 
that  more  than  half  the  children  who  enter  leave  before  they 
are  twelve  years  old.  If  they  go  out  with  the  little  formal 
education  that  so  limited  a  school  time  can  furnish,  and 
knowing  nothing  of  the  great  world  of  instruction,  of  inspi- 
ration, of  enjoyment  into  which  all  may  come  by  the  gate  of 
reading,  they  go  with  lessened  chances  for  happy  lives  and, 
just  as  surely,  with  lessened  chances  of  being  safe  and  useful 
citizens.  Teachers  and  the  home  must  help  the  library 
before  it  can  by  any  means  do  its  best  work. 


MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   LIBRARY.  427 

In  the  line  of  the  much  discussed  university  extension, 
little  effective  work  can  be  done  without  close  union  with  the 
library.  With  the  much  needed  and  hoped-for  facilities  of 
the  promised  new  building,  the  library,  and  its  sister  insti- 
tution, the  museum,  will  be  equipped  to  enter  witli  all  pos- 
sible good  will  into  every  like  attempt  for  the  enlightenment 
and  benefit  of  Milwaukee, 

To  the  idealist  the  Milwaukee  public  library  stands  to-day 
on  the  border  land  of  a  fair  country  into  which  she  may 
enter.  May  she  have  skillful  leading  to  bring  her  into 
the  inheritance. 

Theresa  West. 


Milwaukee  Public  Museum. 


The  beginnings  of  our  public  museum,  as  of  almost  all 
institutions  of  learning  and  science,  were  small  and  insigni- 
ficant. In  1851,  the  late  Mr.  Peter  Engelmann,  director  of 
the  German-English  academy,  and  an  ideal  instructor,  be- 
gan to  make  collections  with  his  pupils.  Excursions  were 
made  with  them  through  field  and  forest,  upland  and  mead- 
ow. An  enthusiastic  lover  of  nature,  Mr.  Engelmann  in- 
spired almost  all  who  came  into  contact  w'ith  him,  but  es- 
pecially his  pupils,  with  a  tender  regard  for  all  that  is  inter- 
esting and  beautiful  in  nature.  These  collections,  which  at 
the  begining  consisted  mostly  of  herbarium  specimens,  were 
made  for  the  purpose  of  illustrating  lessons  in  natural  history 
given  at  his  school. 

In  1857,  Mr.  Engelmann,  Christian  Preusser,  Adolph 
Meinecke  and  other  educated  Germans,  founded  the  Natur- 
historischen  Verein  von  Wisconsin  and,  with  the  collection 
of  Mr.  Engelmann  as  a  foundation,  organized  a  museum  of 
natural  history  at  once.  The  officers  and  members  of  the 
society  commenced  with  great  earnestness  to  secure  for  the 
museum  specimens  in  all  departments  of  natural  history  and 
from  all  countries,  and  books  for  a  library.  The  collection, 
which  gradually  increased,  was  exhibited  in  a  spacious  hall 
in  the  German-English  academy.  In  1881,  it  became  so 
large  that  its  friends  thought  best  to  secure  more  ample 
accommodations  in  some  central  part  of  the  city,  where  it 
could  be  easily  seen  at  any  time  and  where  it  would  better 
serve  the  purposes  of  instruction  and  entertainment. 

Mr.  August  Stirn,  at  that  time  alderman  of  the  Second 
ward,  an  enthusiastic  friend  of  the  so-called  "Engelmann 
Museum,"  inaugurated  a  movement  to  "have  the  museum 
presented  to  the  city,  in  trust,  to  have  it  supported  by  direct 
taxation,  and  encouraged  as  a  free  public  institution  to 
serve  as  a  means  of  public  instruction."  Mr.  Stirn 
was  soon  able  to  present  to  the  common  council  a 
numerously-signed  petition,  and  committees  of  conference 
were  appointed  by  that  body  and  also  by  the  Naturhistoris- 
chen  Verein  (natural  history  society).     A  law  was  prepared 


428 


MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   MUSEUM.  429 

enabling  the  society  to  donate  its  collections,  in  trust,  to  the 
city,  and  another  authorizing  the  city  to  accept  and  main- 
tain it.     Both  laws  were  enacted  by  the  legislature  in  1882. 

On  February  20,  1882,  the  first  board  of  trustees  of  the 
public  museum  was  organized,  took  charge  of  the  collection, 
and  secured  room  for  its  accommodation  in  the  Exposition 
building.  This  board  consisted  of  the  following  members : 
F.  C.  Winkler,  president;  Christian  Preusser,  Adolph  Mein- 
ecke,  Thomas  A.  Greene,  Joshua  Stark,  ex-officio ;  J.  Mac- 
Alister,  ex-officio;  Aldermen  August  Stirn,  C.  H.  Swan,  T.  H. 
Wood.  The  first  officers  were:  Carl  Doerflinger,  secretary 
and  custodian ;  Carl  Thai,  assistant. 

In  1883  the  board  of  trustees  purchased  from  Prof.  H. 
A.  Ward,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  a  very  valuable  collection 
of  fossils,  minerals,  mounted  mammals,  birds  and  reptiles, 
and  a  collection  of  casts  of  quaternary  animals,  for  the  sum 
of  $12,000.  The  collections  increased  rapidly,  partly  by  large 
donations  made  by  Adolph  Meinecke,  August  Stirn  and 
Christian  Preusser,  and  partly  by  purchase.  At  present  the 
two  large  halls  in  the  museum  and  all  the  cases  are  crowded, 
and  many  beautiful  specimens  are  stored  away  in  the  drawers 
for  w^ant  of  room  to  exhibit  them.  A  new  and  spacious 
building  will  soon  be  erected  on  corner  of  Grand  avenue  and 
Ninth  street.  Already  the  public  museum  of  the  city  of 
Milwaukee  ranks  high  as  an  educational  and  scientific  insti- 
tution and  as  a  centre  of  learning. 

The  present  officers  are :  H.  Nehrling,  secretary  and 
custodian ;  Carl  Thai,  assistant  custodian;  George  B.  Turner, 
taxidermist;  Miss  Fanny  Rauterberg,  assistant.  The  board 
of  trustees  consists  of  the  following  members :  George  W. 
Peckham,  president ;  Adolph  Meinecke,  Christian  Preusser, 
Thomas  A.  Greene.  August  Stirn,  W.  J.  Turner,  ex-officio ; 
Aldermen  Theobald  Otjen,  Herman  Fehr  and  Frank 
Niezorawski. 

H.  Nehrling. 


The  Wisconsin  Journal  of  Education. 


In  Wisconsin  the  effort  to  establish  and  maintain  an 
educational  journal  has  been  connected  more  closely  than  is 
usual  with  the  general  educational  history  of  the  state.  For 
a  long  period  the  publication  was  fostered  by  the  state,  and 
for  a  still  longer  one  was  managed  and  edited  by  the  depart- 
ment of  public  instruction.  It  had  its  origin,  however,  in 
private  enterprise.  In  1856  the  Wisconsin  teachers'  associa- 
tion, then  in  its  fourth  annual  session,  received  from  the 
Hon.  James  Sutherland,  of  Janesville,  a  proposition  to  trans- 
fer to  them,  free  of  charge,  the  Wisconsin  Educational  Jour- 
nal, which  he  had  established  the  year  previous.  The  pro- 
position was  accepted,  and  a  board  of  nine  editors  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  association  to  take  charge  of  the  publication. 
This  first  board  consisted  of  Geo.  S.  Dodge,  J.  L.  Pickard,  D. 
Y.  Kilgore,J.  G.  McMynn,  A.J.  Craig,  W.  C.  Dustin,  A.  C. 
Spicer,  W.  Van  Ness  and  V.  Butler.  The  committee  adopted 
the  name,  The  Wisconsm  Journal  of  Education,  and  com- 
menced the  issue  of  a  monthly  of  thirty -two,  six  by  nine  inches, 
double  column  pages.  John  G.  McMynn  was  elected  resi- 
dent editor,  and  Racine  became  the  place  of  publication.  The 
first  number  stated  its  purposes :  "It  will  aim  to  secure  a 
higher  standard  of  qualifications  on  the  part  of  teachers,  to 
obtain  the  establishment  of  normal  schools,  to  furnish  the 
schools  with  more  direct  supervision,  and  to  call  public  atten- 
tion to  union  or  graded  schools."  It  was  thus  launched  as 
an  instrumentality  for  furthering  great  movements,  a  posi- 
tive and  formative  factor  in  the  educational  development  of 
the  state. 

A  glimpse  of  the  world  into  which  it  was  issued  is 
afforded  by  the  list  of  educational  publications  in  the 
United  States,  given  in  the  first  number,  as  follows  : 

The  American  Journal  of  Education,  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

The  American  Journal  of  Education  and  College  Review, 
New  York. 

The  Massachusetts  Teacher,  Boston. 

The  Connecticut  Common  School  Journal  and  Annals  of 
Education,  New  Britain,  Connecticut. 

The  Rhode  Island  Schoolmaster,  Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

480 


THE   WISCONSIN   JOURNAL   OP   EDUCATION.  431 

The  Xew  York  Teacher,  Albany,  New  York. 
The  Ohio  Journal  of  Education,  Columbus,  Ohio. 
The  Michigan  Journal  of  Education  and  Teachers'  Maga- 
zine, Detroit,  Michigan. 

The  Illinois  Teacher,  Peoria,  Illinois. 

The  Indiana  School  Journal,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

The  Wisconsin  Journal  of  Education,  Racine,  Wisconsin^ 

On  that  list  the  reader  is  borne  onward  to  the  West, 
where  he  finds  the  new  venture  on  tlie  outer  verge  of  educa- 
tional journalism.  One  turns  over  the  first  volume  with 
interest  for  what  it  reveals  of  the  days  of  small  things.  The 
programme  of  commencement  at  the  state  university  shows  a 
graduating  class  of  four.  The  report  of  the  Madison  schools 
shows  an  enrollment  of  750,  complains  of  great  irregularity 
and  habitual  tardiness,  and  declares  the  school  accommoda- 
tions "shameful."  The  Piatteville  academy  has  forty-nine  in 
the  classical  department  and  176  in  the  English. 

From  the  second  number  we  learn  that  the  state  super- 
intendent is  authorized  by  law  to  subscribe  for  enough  copies 
to  supply  one  to  each  organized  school  district  in  the  state  ; 
the  money  for  this  is  to  be  drawn  from  the  income  of  the 
school  fund,  and  the  price  is  limited  to  fifty  cents  for  each 
subscription,  which  the  editor  says  wdll  hardly  pay  for  the 
paper  and  printing.  How  vital  this  help  is  to  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  publication  subsequent  events  show.  "We 
commence  the  second  volume,"  says  the  editor,  "with  but 
few  subscribers  aside  from  the  state  subscription,"  which  is 
stated  as  calling  for  3,400  copies. 

With  the  second  volume,  A.  .J.  Craig  became  "  resident 
editor,"  and  continued  his  work  to  June,  1860.  The  publi- 
cation was  removed  to  Madison  in  1858.  With  the  second 
volume  also  appears  on  the  title  page  the  legend :  "  Organ 
of  the  State  Teachers'  Association  and  of  the  Department 
of  Public  Instruction."  The  association  kept  up  its  rela- 
tion by  the  appointment  every  year  of  a  board  of  editors, 
which  was  composed  of  nine  members  in  the  beginning,  but 
had  grown  to  fifteen  in  1862.  This,  however,  does  not  indi- 
cate that  the  usefulness  of  the  board  was  increasing.  The 
"  resident  editor  "  in  these  years  repeatedly  calls  for  the  help 
of  his  colleagues,  and  when,  in  1861,  the  association  forgot 
to  appoint  a  board,  "  the  secret  of  the  empire  was  made  pub- 
lic" and  the  "editorial  committee"  disappears  from  view. 
The  Journal,  however,  continued  to  be  the  organ  of  the  asso- 
ciation, and  faithfully  and  vigorously  promoted  its  interests. 


432  THE  WISCONSIN  JOURNAL   OF   EDUCATION. 

In  1860  J.  B.  Pradt  became  editor.  The  state  aid  kept 
the  enterprise  ahve,  but  perhaps  hindered  that  substantial 
growth  of  which  a  good  subscription  list  is  the  evidence. 
The  editor  urges:  "Our  own  journal  is  the  only  one,  so  far 
as  we  know,  that  does  not  depend  principally  on  private 
subscriptions  for  support.  The  bulk  of  our  edition  is  taken 
by  subscription  by  the  state."  Besides  the  natural  effect  of 
such  aid  in  repressing  business  enterprise,  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  copies  circulated  gratuitously  went  to 
the  school  clerks  and  were  intended  for  them  and  the 
teachers,  who  thus  in  many  cases  had  access  to  the  publica- 
tion and  did  not  feel  called  on  to  subscribe  for  it.  Now,  the 
time  of  stress  had  come  for  the  nation  and  the  state,  and  the 
main  stay  of  the  Journal  was  threatened  by  the  pressure  of 
other  demands  upon  the  treasury.  In  1862  the  legislature 
came  near  taking  away  the  state  aid  from  the  publication, 
which  the  editor  describes  as  "inflicting  upon  it  a  stroke  of 
palsy."     In  1864  the  blow  came. 

Some  appeals  for  help,  bids  for  subscribers  by  lowering 
the  price,  a  reduction  of  the  number  of  pages,  and,  finallj', 
in  June,  1865,  the  abandonment  of  the  enterprise,  followed. 
The  "stroke  of  palsy"  proved  fatal.  There  are  thus  nine 
volumes  of  the  first  series. 

For  the  next  five  years  the  publication  was  discontin- 
ued. Private  enterprise  at  once  started  other  journals. 
One  issued  at  Mineral  Point  continued  about  two  years,  and 
the  one  at  Milwaukee,  the  School  Monthly,  became  the  organ 
of  the  association,  and  was  issued  for  three  years.  The  time 
w^as  not  propitious  and  the  antecedents  were  not  favorable 
for  securing  a  paying  constituenc3\ 

When  the  original  enterprise  was  resumed  in  1871,  the 
department  of  public  instruction  of  the  state,  at  the  request 
of  the  Wisconsin  teachers'  association,  assumed  the  respon- 
sibility and  management.  The  state  superintendent,  Sam- 
uel Fallows,  and  his  assistant,  John  B.  Pradt,  became  its 
editors.  Thus  were  established  the  relations  which  held 
throughout  the  second  period  of  the  histor}'  of  the  Journal. 
For  the  next  fourteen  years  it  continued  the  official  organ  of 
the  department  of  public  instruction,  not  only  in  the  sense 
that  it  published  the  opinions  and  furthered  the  projects  of 
the  department,  but  also  in  the  sense  that  the  department 
owned  and  controlled  it.  The  only  trace  of  the  old  relation 
of  dependence  on  the  state  treasury  is  found  in  the  law  of 
1871,  which  authorizes  school   clerks  to  subscribe   for   the 


THE   WISCONSIN   JOURNAL   OF   EDUCATION.  433 

Journal,  and  pay  for  it  out  of  the  school  money  of  the  dis- 
trict. This  provision  has  been  practically  of  very  little  im- 
portance. School  clerks  as  a  rule  are  not  interested  in  an 
educational  journal;  and  in  rural  neighborhoods,  if  disposed 
to  subscribe,  are  restrained  through  the  jealous  criticism  of 
their  fellow  citizens.  They  are  not  the  true  constituency  of 
such  a  publication.  This  must  be  found  chiefly  among  the 
teachers  and  superintendents  of  the  state.  As  compared 
with  the  old  issues,  the  new  series  contained  more  articles 
by  leading  teachers  of  the  state,  and  served  more  effectively 
as  a  medium  for  the  dissemination  of  educational  opinions 
and  information.  The  numbers  kept  more  exclusively  to 
matters  pertaining  to  school  education.  There  is,  indeed,  a 
growing  appreciation  of  what  the  field  of  an  educational 
journal  is,  and  a  consequent  closer  adaptation  to  its  re- 
quirements. 

It  results  from  the  arrangement  just  described  that 
changes  in  the  state  superintendency  are  also  changes  in  the 
editorship  of  the  Journal.  Thus,  in  the  beginning  of  1874, 
Edward  Searing  took  the  place  of  Mr.  Fallows.  His  con- 
nection with  the  publication  was  not  a  merely  nominal  one; 
the  issues  of  the  next  four  years  bear  the  the  impress  of  his 
scholarly  tastes  and  strong  convictions.  The  Journal  deals 
more  with  principles,  and  the  editorials  are  concerned  with 
broad,  practical  purposes.  At  the  beginning  of  his  second 
term  he  writes :  "  For  the  past  two  years  the  editors  of  the 
Journal  have  devoted  no  little  time  and  hard  work  to  make 
it  a  useful  and  creditable  representative  of  our  educational 
interests.  It  has  paid  nothing  for  the  labor."  He  proposes, 
however,  to  make  it  better  than  ever,  and  hopes  for  the  sup- 
port of  teachers.  The  volumes  show  the  earnestness  of  the 
effort,  and  the  sense  of  only  partial  success  in  securing 
needed  support. 

When  Mr.  Whitford  succeeded  to  the  superintendency, 
in  1878,  his  salutatory  dwelt  upon  the  improvement  of  the 
country  schools,  and  this  may  be  considered  the  key-note  of 
the  Journal  for  three  years.  The  editorials  set  before  us  a 
man  circulating  among  the  schools,  commenting  helpfully 
upon  the  things  he  sees,  and  reflecting  tlie  trend  of  opin- 
ions. Association  papers  now  make  a  larger  part  of  the  con- 
tents than  heretofore,  and  there  is  considerable  effort  to  in- 
troduce school-room  helps  and  hints.  Mr.  Pradt,  who  had 
been  editorially  connected  with  the  publication  since  its  re- 
vival, retired  in  1880,  and  his  place  was  filled  by  S.  S.  Rock- 


434  THE   WISCONSIN   JOURNAL   OF   EDUCATION. 

wood,  whose  interest  in  graded  schools  and  in  mathematics 
appeared  in  its  columns.  On  retiring,  a  year  later,  he  spoke 
of  having  "discovered  two  great  stumbling  blocks  in  the  way 
of  its  (the  Journal's)  best  interests,  and  both  grow  out  of  its 
relation  to  the  department  of  public  education  ;"  they  are,  as 
he  thinks,  the  pressure  of  official  duties  which  demand  the 
time  of  its  editors,  and  the  lack  of  independence  and  free- 
dom of  opinion  and  of  criticism  necessarily  incident  to  the 
relation.  The  utterance  was  manifestly  true,  and  fore- 
shadowed the  coming  of  the  close  of  this  second  period  of 
tutelage  in  the  history  of  the  publication. 

Mr.  Graham  and  Mr.  Chandler  assumed  the  charge  of 
the  Journal  in  1882.  The  management  fell  largely  into  the 
hands  of  the  latter,  who  expressed  his  wish  to  make  it  a 
•'helpful  adjunct  to  the  common  school  teachers  of  the 
state,"  with  whose  youth  and  need  of  help  he  was  strongly 
impressed.  Thus  the  matter  presented  took  still  more  the 
form  of  hints  and  practical  suggestions  for  common  school 
teachers.  The  limitations  referred  to  by  Mr.  Rock  wood 
were  more  and  more  felt  both  by  the  editors  and  by  intelli- 
gent teachers  and  superintendents.  Moreover,  the  growth  of 
the  state  was  so  increasing  the  work  of  the  superintendent's 
office  as  to  make  it  every  year  more  difficult  to  give  time  to 
editorial  duties. 

At  length,  in  1 885,  a  movement  was  made  in  the  associa- 
tion, with  the  support  of  the  department,  to  separate  the 
publication  from  its  dependence  upon  the  state  superintend- 
ency,  and  it  was  transferred  by  vote  of  that  body  to  J.  W. 
Stearns,  who  had  just  been  elected  professor  of  the  science 
and  art  of  teaching  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  and  who 
still  continues  its  editor.  In  1891  a  combination  was  effected 
with  the  Midland  School  Journal,  edited  by  A.  O.  Wright, 
who  thus  became  associated  in  the  management  of  the  Wis- 
consin Journal  of  Education.  Thus  the  era  of  maturity  was 
entered  upon,  in  which  the  Journal  lives  as  a  business  enter- 
prise, occupies  an  independent  position  as  a  critic  of  educa- 
tional movements  and  institutions,  seeks  to  make  itself  a 
factor  in  promoting  growth  and  developing  sound  educa- 
tional opinion,  while  still  remaining  the  organ  of  the  asso- 
ciation and  of  the  department  of  public  instruction.  With 
its  history,  which  has  been  thus  outlined,  it  can  hardly  be 
less;  and  if  true  to  the  principles  which  led  to  its  latest  de- 
velopment it  can  hardly  fail  to  be  more. 

J.  W.  Stearns. 


CITY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS. 


The  Milwaukee  Public  Schools. 


EARLY  SCHOOLS. 

The  first  schools  established  in  Milwaukee,  in  the  year 
1836,  were  pay  schools,  that  is,  the  patrons  thereof  employed 
the  teachers  and  paid  them  for  their  services.  The  cir- 
cumstances were  such  that  free  public  schools,  such  as  we 
now  have,  could  not  then  have  been  established.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  primitive  village  could  not  rely  upon  any 
public  money  to  support  schools,  as  the  tax-gatherer  and  the 
treasurer  were  not  then  commissioned  to  do  business.  Their 
duties  began  later. 

The  first  schools  were  essentially  primitive.  The  first 
teachers  were,  like  most  of  the  other  inhabitants,  persons 
who  had  come  West  with  the  tide  of  emigration,  intending  to 
build  up  their  fortunes.  The  pay  of  teachers  in  those  days, 
both  in  the  East  and  in  the  West,  was  hardly  as  much  as 
that  of  a  farm  laborer  at  the  present  time.  It  barely  suf- 
ficed to  purchase  the  necessaries  of  life.  Scanty  fare  and 
threadbare  raiment  were  then  trade-marks  of  the  profession. 

As  there  are  no  records  of  the  earliest  schools,  the  fol- 
lowing is  the  nearest  outline  sketch  which  the  earliest  in- 
habitants have  been  able  to  cull  from  the  pictures  of  mem- 
ory. A  crude  log  hut  or  rickety  frame  shanty,  thirty  feet 
long  by  twenty  feet  wide,  with  a  door  in  one  end,  a  fire- 
place and  chimney  on  the  opposite  end,  four  small  windows, 
two  on  each  side,  each  about  thirty  inches  square,  was  the 
school  house  of  the  early  days.  There  was  a  wooden  floor, 
long  benches  placed  along  the  side  of  the  walls  for  the 
smaller  children,  and  two  or  three  small  tables  with  appro- 
priate benches  for  the  more  advanced  pupils,  who  were  able 
to  wTite.  The  schoolmaster  had  a  chair,  a  small  pine  table, 
a  ruler,  a  pen-knife,  a  few  old  books,  an  ink-bottle  with  ink 
in  it,  and  a  quill  pen.  The  larger  pupils  were  provided  with 
copy-books,  slates,  arithmetics  and  readers  of  various  kinds, 
and  the  j'ounger  pupils  with  such  specimens  of  primers, 
first  readers  or  "alphabet"  cards  as  could  then  be  found  or 
extemporized.  Classes,  there  were  none.  The  variety  book- 
supply  rendered  it  impossible  to  have  classes.  Blackboards 
were  not  then  known  as  far  west  as  Milwaukee. 


436 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  437 

The  school-master  was  obliged  to  be  his  own  janitor  in 
those  days.  Sometimes  the  patrons  chopped  the  wood  re- 
quired, and  sometimes  the  school-master  himself  wielded  the 
ax  in  the  early  morning.  He  was  obliged  to  be  at  school 
at  least  half  an  hour  before  the  pupils  began  to  assemble. 
The  sweeping  and  the  fire-making  must  be  attended  to. 
Occasionally,  the  school-master  succeeded  in  securing  the 
assistance  of  one  or  two  of  the  larger  boys  in  doing  this  work. 

There  were  no  engraved  headlines  in  the  cop}"^  books  in 
those  days.  The  school-master  was  usually  expected  to  be 
able  to  "set"  a  copy,  which  was  nearly  as  perfect  a  specimen 
of  writing  as  the  engraved  copies  are  now.  After  getting  the 
house  in  order,  the  making  of  the  pens,  viz.,  preparing  the 
quills  for  use  as  pens,  engaged  his  attention,  and  after  this 
he  wrote  the  copies.  The  owners  of  the  copy-books  usually 
stood  around  the  table  in  earnest,  admiring  groups.  The 
disorderly  boy  was  not  an  unknown  factor  then  in  school 
experience.  Hence  there  was  an  occasional  interruption  for 
the  purpose  of  administering  corporal  punishment  on  the 
disorderly  party.  While  the  more  advanced  pupils  were 
writing,  the  younger  pupils  were  coming  up  in  single  file  to 
the  master's  chair,  each  to  read  or  spell.  Reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic  constituted  the  sum  total  of  the  course  of 
study,  except  in  rare  instances,  when  an  old  map  could  be 
found  and  used  for  giving  some  desultory  instruction  in 
geography.  The  years  thus  were  spent,  numbers  steadily 
increased,  but  the  school-master's  financial  resources  did  not 
improve  much,  neither  did  the  means  of  imparting  instruc- 
tion. That  children  were  taught  to  read,  write,  cipher  and 
spell,  under  such  discouraging  circumstances,  was  alike 
creditable  to  the  school-master's  proficiency  and  to  the  pupils' 
scholarl}'  earnestness.  The  conditions  gradually  but  surely 
improved.  Commercial  activity  soon  succeeded  in  bringing 
even  to  this  far-west  little  village  of  Milwaukee  many  of  the 
school  conveniences  that  were  at  first  unknown. 

The  very  first  school  taught  in  Milwaukee  stood  on 
what  is  now  East  Water  street ;  but  when  the  street  was 
opened  it  was  moved  to  the  corner  of  East  Water  and  Wis- 
consin streets.  The  name  of  the  first  teacher  was  Dr.  Heth. 
His  pupils  consisted  chiefly  of  the  children  of  Solomon  and 
Peter  Juneau,  who  were  the  first  white  settlers.  In  1836, 
another  school  was  opened  on  the  east  side,  one  block  south 
from  the  location  of  the  first.  The  name  of  the  teacher  of 
this  school  was  David  Worthington.     Soon  after  the  open- 


438  THE  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

ing  of  the  latter,  a  school  was  opened  on  the  west  side,  on 
Third  street,  a  short  distance  north  of  Chestnut  street.  Mr. 
West  was  the  teacher.  The  number  of  pupils  attending  all 
of  the  Milwaukee  schools  in  1837  hardly  exceeded  thirty. 
The  first  lady  teacher,  whom  traditional  history  honors  for 
teaching  services  rendered,  was  a  Miss  Church,  who  after- 
ward became  Mrs.  Olin,  of  Waukesha.  Her  school  was  kept 
on  the  southeast  corner  of  Huron  and  East  Water  streets. 

The  territorial  law  of  Michigan  territory,  enacted  in 
1827,  provided  that  as  soon  as  twenty  families  were  settled 
in  a  town,  they  should  select  three  commissioners  of  common 
schools,  who  should  hold  their  respective  offices  for  three 
years,  whose  duties  should  be  to  lease  the  school  lands,  and 
apply  the  proceeds  to  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
said  schools.  Wisconsin  was  at  that  time  a  part  of  the  Mich- 
igan territory.  As  the  public  lands  were  then  so  plentiful,  but 
little,  if  anything,  could  be  realized  from  the  school  lands. 
Hence  whatever  schools  were  established  must  have  been 
maintained  by  local,  voluntary,  self-imposed  taxation  or  assess- 
ment. No  wonder,  then,  that  the  school  houses  were  poor, 
the  teachers  ill-paid,  and  the  school  supplies  limited  in  ex- 
tent, and  of  the  cheapest  kind. 

The  Milwaukee  Sentinel,  of  October  13,  1837,  gives  us 
in  the  following  article  a  very  correct  estimate  of  the  edu- 
cated thought  of  that  day  upon  the  question  of  common 
school  education. 

"There  is  probably  no  one  subject  of  so  much  importance 
to  this  territory,  and  which  will  be  more  conducive  to  the  future 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  people,  than  the  adoption  of  a 
wise  and  liberal  system  of  common  school  education.  A  careful 
observer  will  perceive  in  the  older-settled  portions  of  the  Union, 
that  the  general  mass  of  the  people  are  the  most  enlightened, 
and  well-informed,  where  a  liberal  and  judicious  common  school 
system  has  been  adopted.  The  foundation  is  laid  at  the  com- 
mon school,  and  it  is  necessary  that  it  be  properly  laid,  of  the 
right  kind  of  material,  under  the  care  and  superintendence  of  a 
master- workman,  else  the  superstructure  may  fail  in  the  end 
for  the  want  of  a  right  commencement." 

The  editor  who  penned  the  above  wrote  in  full  view  of 
all  the  schools  that  then  existed  in  the  village  of  Milwaukee 
and  in  the  territory  of  Wisconsin.  His  estimate  of  the  value 
of  good  schools  is  as  good  for  the  present  time  as  it  was  fifty- 
five  years  ago.  Notwithstanding  this  enlightened  view  of 
what  was  required,  many  years  of  deficiencies  in  the  schools 
that  the  village  was  obliged  to  rely  upon,  had  to  be  borne 


THE  MILWAUKEE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  439 

before  much  improvement  came.  True,  there  were  good 
teachers,  some  probably  much  better  than  many  of  the 
teachers  that  we  now  have.  Men  and  women  were  educated 
in  those  village  schools  who  were  well-equipped  for  dealing 
with  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  The  earliest  settlers  of  Mil- 
waukee embraced  a  very  large  proportion  of  quite  well  edu- 
cated American  ladies  and  gentlemen.  No  one  can  name 
twenty  of  the  oldest  settlers  without  including  many  names 
that  have  been  and  are  well-known  representatives  of  edu- 
cated intelligence.  This  was  the  factor  that  supplemented 
the  work  of  the  ill-paid,  poorly-supplied  village  school- 
master of  the  thirties. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  protracted  struggle  that  the  early 
village  schools  experienced,  and  the  difficulties  that  were 
encountered  in  making  improvements,  the  lollowing,  taken 
from  the  Milwaukee  Sentinel  of  June  7,  1845,  will  give  the 
readers  of  this  sketch  a  clear  estimate.  This  was  at  a  time, 
be  it  remembered,  which  was  nearly  ten  years  after  the  first 
schools  were  established. 

"  There  is  not  a  public  school  in  Milwaukee,  nor  has  there 
ever  been  one.  The  building  used  for  school  purposes  in  the 
first  district " — (east  side  of  the  Milwaukee  river) — "is  old,  dilapi- 
dated, unpainted  and  half  unglazed,  without  play-ground  or 
shade,  and  has  not  any  kind  of  retreat  for  the  performance  of 
Nature's  most  private  and  necessary  ofiices. 

"  In  this  school,  out  of  a  school  population  of  325  children, 
between  the  ages  of  four  years  and  six  years,  only  about  thirty 
are  in  the  school,  and  these  are  of  both  sexes,  and  of  all  ages, 
pursuing  their  studies  in  text-books  whose  name  is  legion. 
Three  hundred  and  eighteen  dollars  is  all  that  is  appropriated 
for  the  entire  maintenance  of  this  school,  not  one  dollar  for  each 
child  entitled  to  receive  a  common  school  education." 

This  tells  the  story  of  the  condition  of  the  schools  in 
the  year  just  preceding  the  year  when  the  Milwaukee  city 
charter  was  adopted.  Evidently  the  press  of  that  day  was 
a  powerful  factor  in  awakening  the  public  to  a  realizing 
sense  of  the  educational  shortcomings  then  prevailing. 
•  We  are  told  by  the  Sentinel  that  a  public  meeting  was 
held  at  Trustees'  hall  on  the  west  side,  on  the  evening  of 
December  12,  1845,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  some  action 
looking  towards  the  improvement  of  the  schools.  L.  W. 
Weeks  was  president,  and  I.  A.  Lapham  and  A.  W.  Hatch 
secretaries,  of  the  meeting.  At  this  meeting  Rufus  King, 
from  the  committee  on  schools  and  school  systems,  reported 
as  follows: 


440  THE  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

"The  whole  number  of  school  children  between  the  ages  of 
5  and  16  years  in  the  town  of  Milwaukee  is  1,781.  There  are 
13  schools  in  operation  within  the  corporation  limits,  viz.,  4 
public  schools  and  9  private  schools.  Actual  attendance  at  the 
public  schools,  228;  at  the  private  schools,  356,  or  584  in  all. 
There  is  no  public  school  house  in  the  east  ward"  (east  side  of 
river).  "There  is  only  a  small-sized  and  inconvenient  public 
school  house  in  the  west  ward"  (Avest  side  of  river).  "In  the 
southward,"  (south  side  of  Menomonee  river),  "there  is  a  good 
public  school  house.  There  are  upward  of  1,000  children  for 
whom  no  adequate  provision  of  school  accommodation  is  made. 
There  are  but  two  public  school  houses,  one  of  them  hardly 
deserving  the  name." 

In  view  of  this  report  the  meeting  adjourned  till  Dec- 
ember 17,  1845,  and  the  committee,  consisting  of  F.  Ran- 
dall, Rufus  King,  E.  D.  Smith,  Richard  Murphy  and 
Moritz  SchoefHer,  was  instucted  to  report  at  the  next  meet- 
ing a  general  plan  of  revision.  At  the  next  meeting,  Dec- 
ember 17,  1845,  the  committee  recommended  that  all  of  the 
common  schools  be  placed  under  the  control  of  a  board  of 
commissioners  elected  or  appointed  annually  from  the  sev- 
veral  school  districts  or  wards,  which  should  have  full  con- 
trol of  the  public  schools,  employing  the  teachers,  prescrib- 
ing the  text  books,  and  determining  rate  bills  to  which 
recourse  may  be  had  for  defraying  a  portion  of  the  ex- 
penses. 

Lastly,  the  committee  recommended,  "that  the  school 
board  shall  have  power  to  elect  its  president,  who  shall 
serve  the  board  as  its  clerk,  and  who  will  be  required  to 
make  periodical  examinations  of  the  schools  and  report  the 
results  thereof  to  the  board."  This  report  was  adopted,  and 
became,  in  substance,  the  outline  of  that  part  of  the  first 
city  charter  which  related  to  the  public  schools. 

This  report  w^as  the  first  important  step  that  had  been 
taken  to  improve  the  schools  and  was  the  first  well-defined 
plan  of  improvement  that  had  been  presented. 

BEGINNING   OF   CITY   SCHOOLS.  , 

The  city  charter  was  adopted  the  next  year,  viz.,  1846,^ 
and  the  first  election  under  the  charter  was  held  on  April  7, 
1846.  The  city  was  divided  into  five  wards,  viz.,  the  First 
and  Third  on  the  east  side,  the  Second  and  Fourth  on  the 
west  side,  and  the  Fifth  on  the  south  side.  The  First  ward 
public  school  was  first  opened  in  the  basement  of  the  old  St. 
Peter's  cathedral  on  Martin  street,  which  was  kindly  offered 


THE  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  441 

to  the  school  board  by  the  late  Right  Rev.  John  Martin 
Henni,  Archbishop  of  Milwaukee.  Evidently  the  church 
authorities  in  those  days  had  no  prejudice  against  the  public 
schools.  In  the  Third  and  in  the  Fourth  ward  the  first 
public  schools  were  held  in  rented  houses.  The  Second  and 
Fifth  ward  schools  were  held  in  the  school  buildings  that 
had  been  in  use  before.  These  five  schools  were  opened  in 
June,  1846.  The  following  is  the  first  annual  report  of  these 
five  schools. 

Ward  Schools.  Whole  Number  Average  Dally 

Enrolled.  Atteudance. 

First 80  50 

Second 113  45 

Third 200  125 

Fourth 85  50 

Fifth 170  85 

Total 648  355 

The  city  government  had  now  come,  a  definite  form 
had  been  adopted  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
the  schools,  but  the  means  to  supply  even  the  most  limited 
requirements  were  still  utterly  deficient.  The  population 
was  rapidly  increasing,  the  commercial  necessities  of  the  city 
were  so  urgent  and  the  tax  income  so  limited,  that,  notwith- 
standing the  popular  appreciation  of  good  schools,  six  whole 
years  must  elapse  before  anything  like  adequate  school-room 
was  provided.  In  1852  five  new  brick  school  buildings, 
which  were  then  considered  quite  large,  were  ready  for  use. 
Two  of  these  were  on  the  east  side,  viz.,  one  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Van  Buren  and  Division  streets,  and  one  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Detroit  and  Jackson ;  two  on  the  west, 
one  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Eighth  and  Sycamore  streets, 
and  one  on  Fourth  street,  near  Galena.  The  Fifth  ward 
(south  side)  was  supplied  with  one  on  or  near  the  site  of 
the  location  of  the  present  Fifth  district  school  building. 
Each  of  these  new  buildings  was  intended  to  accommodate 
about  350  pupils. 

*  From  the  date  of  the  establishment  of  these  five  schools, 
authentic  written  records  of  the  school  board's  doings  are 
preserved.  Besides  the  duties  that  now  devolve  upon  the 
school  board,  the  board  in  those  early  days  had  still  more 
extended  powers  ana  responsibilities.  The  erection  and  repair 
of  the  buildings,  the  furnishing  of  them  wdth  school  furniture 
and  with  school  supplies,the  providing  of  fuel,etc.,  all  devolved 

upon  the  board.  There  was  then  one  very  bad  defect  in  the  sys- 


442  THE  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

tern  of  thatperiod,and  that  was  lack  of  professional  supervision. 
Supervision  seemed  to  be  rather  an  uncertain  element  in  the 
school  organization  of  forty  years  ago.  A  committee  of  the 
school  board  was  appointed  to  visit  the  schools,  and  report 
impressions  received.  The  visits  were  seldom  made,  and  the 
impressions  were  too  dazzling  to  lead  to  anything  helpful  in 
future  school  work.  It  may  truthfully  be  said  that  from 
1852  till  1859,  when  General  King  was  elected  as  first  super- 
intendent of  the  Milwaukee  public  schools,  lack  of  supervision 
was  the  most  important  of  all  the  conditions  that  were  then 
most  needed.  From  the  early  village  school  of  the  thirties,^ 
the  charter  school  of  1846  followed,  and  in  1852,  the  five 
large,  well-equipped  schools  heretofore  noticed.  Uniformity 
of  textrbooks,  classification  into  grammar,  intermediate  and 
primary  departments  were  now  established.  Many  of  the 
best  teachers  that  Milwaukee  ever  had  were  in  the  employ 
of  the  school  board  in  the  fifties.  Among  the  latter,  we  need 
but  nameF.  C.  Pomeroy,  whose  fame  as  principal  of  the  Third 
ward  school  was  known  not  only  in  Milwaukee,  but  through- 
out the  whole  Northwest.  Until  the  time  of  Superintendent 
King,  whatever  of  good  there  was  in  the  schools  did  not  ex~ 
ist  so  much  as  a  requirement  by  well  formulated  conditions 
presented  by  the  school  board,  as  by  the  excellent  abilities 
of  the  teachers  who  then  served  the  city. 

During  the  seven-year  interval  from  1852  till  1859,. 
there  was  but  a  semblance  of  uniformity  in  the  work  done 
in  the  schools.  An  ambitious  teacher  might  take  up  draw- 
ing, another  might  teach  the  German  language,  and  an- 
other might  teach  astronomy,  etc.,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  other  teachers  pursuing  the  same  presumed  ends 
taught  none  of  these.  In  some  of  the  schools  the  German 
language  was  taught,  long  before  its  formal  adoption  by  the 
school  board  in  1857  as  one  of  the  branches  of  the  curricu- 
lum of  studies. 

MR.  king's  superintexdency. 

The  election  of  a  superintendent,  who  was  presumably 
chosen  on  account  of  his  fitness  to  supervise  the  work  of  the 
schools,  was  a  great  step  in  the  development  of  our  present 
splendid  school  system.  General  Rufus  King,  the  first 
superintendent,  was  a  man  eminently  fitted  to  perform  the 
duties  of  the  office.  He  was  a  man  of  liberal  education,  and 
had  long  been  a  member  of  the  school  board.  There  was  a 
decided  improvement  in  the  schools  from  and  after  the  dato 
of  his  becoming  superintendent. 


THE   MILWAUKEE  PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  443 

Had  General  King  been  permitted  to  continue  his  ser- 
vices, the  schools  would  have  been  the  gainers.  The  salary 
then  paid,  although  it  was  considered  liberal  for  the  time, 
was  not  sufficient  pay  for  the  entire  services  of  such  a  man 
as  General  King.  His  editorial  management  of  the  Sen- 
tinel probably  demanded  too  much  ot  his  time  to  permit 
his  giving  the  full  scope  of  his  splendid  powers  to  the 
work  of  the  schools. 

MR.  ford's  SUPERISTENDENCY. 

May  4,  1860,  Jonathan  Ford  was  elected  as  General 
King's  successor.  Mr.  Ford  had  been  a  teacher  in  the  Mil- 
waukee schools.  He  probably  knew  more  of  the  details  of 
the  work  than  his  predecessor.  But  in  breadth  and  general 
powers  of  developing  the  system  and  of  improving  its  faulty 
conditions,  he  was  not  up  to  General  King's  standard. 

Besides  the  time  given  to  the  examining  and  certifying 
of  teachers,  the  superintendents  of  those  days  devoted  most 
of  their  spare  time  to  the  examining  of  classes.  Teachers' 
meetings  were  seldom  held.  Monthly  reports  were  then 
required,  which  contained  the  enrollment,  attendance,  ab- 
sence, and  number  of  visitors  that  honored  the  schools  with 
their  presence.  There  were  no  reports  upon  the  subject  of 
corporal  punishment,  teachers'  meetings,  etc.,  such  as  are 
now  required. 

There  was  one  feature  of  school  experience  then  known 
which  has  been  almost  forgotten.  That  was  the  giving  of 
prizes  for  the  best  standing  in  the  respective  branches. 
Mr.  E.  D.  Holton  gave  medals,  Mr.  R.  C.  Spencer  scholar- 
ships in  his  commercial  college,  and  Mr.  Alexander  Mitch- 
ell, cash  or  book  prizes  for  the  pupils  that  attained  the  high- 
est standings.  These  contests  served  a  good  purpose  for  the 
time.  They  awoke  a  healthy  emulation,  and  thereby 
tended  to  establish  a  higher  standard  of  scholarship.  Un- 
pleasant comments,  however,  were  not  unknown.  Favor- 
itism, prejudice,  unfairness  in  making  the  decisions,  were 
often  heard  as  charges  against  the  deciding  or  examining 
committees.  It  was  during  Mr.  Ford's  term  of  office,  that 
the  financial  crisis  in  the  Milwaukee  school  board  history 
occurred. 

The  panic  of  1857,  like  all  general  panics,  left  long- 
lasting  penalties  to  follow  in  its  wake.  School  orders  were 
seeking  purchasers  at  a  discount  of  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  per  cent.     Finally,  the  school  board  closed  the  schools 


444  THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

for  more  than  two  months,  which  act  brought  the  common 
council  to  a  definite  decision  in  making  the  provisions  nec- 
essary to  meet  the  financial  requirements.  To  the  credit  of 
the  teachers  be  it  said,  none  of  them  deserted  their  ill-paid 
positions  in  consequence  of  the  loss  sustained  in  having 
their  pay  stopped  at  a  time  when  they  could  ill-afford  to 
suffer  any  loss.  Sixteen  teachers  were  dropped  from  the 
service,  the  two  high  schools  were  discontinued,  as  essential 
steps  of  retrenchment. 

The  work  of  the  schools  was  resumed,  and,  in  spite  of. 
the  depressing  financial  difficulties,  the  Milwaukee  schools 
did  good  work  in  those  days  when  the  dark  clouds  of  civil 
war  ominously  darkened  the  southern  horizon,  and  the  boys 
left  the  schools  to  blow  the  patriotic  strains  of  the  fife  or  tap 
the  war  drum  to  give  the  marching  columns  time,  or,  still 
oftener,  to  join  the  ranks  and  march  away  to  the  front.  The 
stern  demands  of  the  war  did  thin  the  upper  grades  of  the 
schools,  but  the  work  still  went  on.  Those  stirring,  sad  days 
of  war  lent  an  impetus  to  the  rhetorical  work  of  the  schools. 
The  speeches  of  John  Adams,  Patrick  Henry  and  Daniel 
Webster  were  rendered  with  adjuncts  of  feeling  and  passion 
befitting  the  times.  The  war  music  aroused  the  spirit  of 
patriotism.  All  of  the  older  teachers  can  well  remember 
with  what  spirit  the  pupils  sang  "Rally  Round  the  Flag," 
"The  Red,  White  and  Blue,"  "John  Brown's  Body  Lies 
Mouldering  in  the  Grave,"  "Lay  Me  Down  and  Save  the 
Flag."  How  those  stirring  lines  on  Sheridan's  Ride,  by 
Buchanan  Read,  were  spoken  by  the  boys  and  girls  almost  as 
soon  as  they  were  taken  from  the  press !  History  teaching 
received  a  new  impulse.  It  was  no  longer  regarded  as  a 
study  of  secondary  importance.  The  history  of  the  times 
was  told  by  the  pupils  in  well  written  compositions,  and  the 
schools  received  a  mighty  impulse  from  the  great  deeds  that 
were  being  performed  on  the  bloody  fields  of  the  South. 

MR.  DE  wolf's  SUPERINTENDENCY. 

Mr.  Sharpstein,  one  of  the  editors  of  the  Milwaukee 
News,  was  elected  superintendent  in  1862.  But  his  political 
duties  to  his  paper  were  such  as  to  prevent  him  from  giving 
as  much  time  to  the  duties  of  the  superintendent's  office  as 
its  importance  required.  He  resigned  after  a  few  months, 
and  Mr.  De  Wolf,  a  member  of  the  school  board,  was  elected. 
A  glance  at  the  records  left  by  Superintendent  De  Wolf  show 
quite  plainly  that  a  mistake  was  made  in  electing  him  to  the 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  445 

office.  \\Tiatever  prosperity  or  success  was  attained  during 
the  years  that  Mr.  De  Wolf  served  must  have  been  due  to 
the  abihty  and  devotion  of  the  teachers.  The  superintendent 
could  not  have  known  whether  the  work  of  the  teachers  was 
well  or  ill  done.  His  own  scholarship  was  manifestly  too 
weak  to  entitle  him  to  any  position  in  the  schools.  He 
probably  tried  to  do  as  well  as  he  knew  how.  But  what  he 
knew  was  not  sufficient  to  make  him  a  competent  judge  of 
the  teacher's  ability  either  as  a  scholar  or  a  teacher. 

The  selecting  of  such  a  person  was  the  weakest  act  ever 
performed  by  the  Milwaukee  school  board.  It  showed  only 
what  queer  things  deliberative  bodies  sometimes  do.  There  was 
an  able  corps  of  principals  and  of  teachers  then  in  the  schools, 
and  to  them  is  due  whatever  of  merit  or  success  they  then 
attained.  During  the  last  year  of  Mr.  De  Wolf's  term  of 
office,  the  following  were  the  principals  in  the  employ  of  the 
school  board:  First  ward,  F.  C.  Pomeroy ;  Second  ward, 
Jacob  Wernli ;  Third  ward,  Patrick  Connolly,  Jr.;  Fourth 
ward,  C.  K.  Martin ;  Fifth  ward,  Galen  B.  Seaman ;  Sixth 
ward,  F.  C.  Lau ;  Seventh  ward,  H.  B.  Fumess ;  Eighth 
ward,  O.  M.  Baker ;  Ninth  ward,  Louis  Hillmantel.  With 
the  active  work  of  the  schools  in  such  hands,  the  deficiencies 
of  the  superintending  power  hardly  reached  to  the  work  of 
the  class  teacher.  Probably  the  mistake  that  was  made  in 
selecting  Mr.  De  Wolf  as  superintendent  was  so  manifest  to 
all  that  when  the  board  chose  his  successor,  a  very  excellent 
choice  was  made. 

MR.  pomeroy's  superintendency. 

May  15,  1865,  Mr.  F.  C.  Pomeroy,  who  had  been  recog- 
nized and  conceded  by  all  to  be  one  of  the  ablest  and  best 
teachers  that  ever  taught  in  the  Milwaukee  schools,  was 
elected  as  superintendent.  Mr.  Pomeroy's  supervision  was 
uniform,  constant  and  painstaking.  Trained  in  the  work 
himself,  he  knew  what  was  attainable,  and,  by  his  careful 
examinations  of  all  the  classes  in  the  city,  he  was  soon  able 
to  make  intelligent  and  fair  comparisons  of  the  relative 
status  attained  by  teachers  engaged  in  the  same  grade  of 
work.  Yearly  examinations  of  teachers  had  been  required 
up  till  the  time  of  Mr.  Pomeroy's  administration,  and  hav- 
ing himself  been  required  to  go  through  this  humiliating 
annual  test,  he  soon  induced  the  school  board  to  abandon  it. 
Since  his  time,  a  teacher's  certificate  is  required  but  once. 
The  department  system,  viz.,   grammar,  intermediate  and 


446  THE  MILWAUKEE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

primary  departments,  constituted  the  three  divisions  of  a 
school.  One  teacher  in  each  department  was  designated  as 
principal  of  that  department,  the  principal  of  the  grammar 
department  being  recognized  as  principal  of  the  school.  In 
1868  the  graded  system  was  adopted  instead  of  the  depart- 
ment system.  But  one  principal  was  named  for  the  school 
after  that  time.  Under  the  graded  system,  the  principal 
.was  not  required  to  teach  a  certain  class,  but  was  expected  to 
devote  most  of  his  time  to  the  more  important  work  of 
supervision.  Principals  have  taught  classes  since  then,  at 
times,  but  only  temporarily.  During  Mr.  Pomeroy's  admin- 
istration mental  arithmetic  attained  a  very  high  standard  of 
excellence  in  the  Milwaukee  schools.  This  was  chief!}'  due 
to  Mr.  Pomeroy's  special  proficiency  in  dealing  with  that 
branch  of  teaching.  Pupils  in  the  highest,  or  first,  grade 
could  with  the  greatest  rapidity  analyze  problems  that 
usually  require  an  algebraic  solution.  During  the  year 
1868  to  1869  of  Mr.  Pomeroy's  administration,  a  question 
was  raised  as  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  superintendent,  under 
the  laws  as  they  then  existed,  to  grade  and  promote  pupils. 
The  question  was  referred  to  the  city  attorney,  who  decided 
that  he  had  such  legal  right.  The  denial  or  questioning  of 
his  right  probably  came  from  the  optional  powers  that  had 
been  exercised  by  the  principals  prior  to  that  time.  This 
optional  power  had  been  exercised  so  far  that  text-books 
other  than  the  ones  prescribed  by  the  school  board  had  been 
used  in  some  of  the  schools. 

In  January,  1868,  the  high  school,  as  it  now  exists,  was 
opened  in  the  Seventh  district  school  as  a  part  of  the 
-system.  The  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  high 
school  during  the  first  year  was  one  hundred,  and  the  aver- 
age daily  attendance  was  sixty-eight. 

The  branches  taught  during  Mr.  Pomeroy's  term  of 
service  embraced  reading,  spelling,  writing,  grammar,  arith- 
metic, mental  and  practical,  geography,  United  States  his- 
tory, physical  geography  and  music  ;  German  was  optional. 

MR.  Paul's  superintendency. 

August  25,  1870,  Mr.  Pomeroy  died,  and  Geo.  H.  Paul 
was  shortly  afterward  elected  to  fill  the  unexpired  term. 

Mr.  Paul  had  been  a  member  of  the  school  board,  but 
was  not  known  as  a  teacher.  He  followed  Mr.  Pomeroy's 
plan  of  superintending  the  schools.  He  examined  teachers 
and  pupils  as  Mr.  Pomeroy  had  done,  but  did  not  attempt 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  447 

any  change,  either  in  the  work  as  he  found  it,  or  in  the  man- 
ner of  doing  it. 

MR.    LAU'S   SUPERINTENDENCY. 

In  May,  1871,  F.  C.  Lau,  who  had  been  principal  of  the 
Webster  or  Second  ward  school,  was  elected  as  Mr.  Paul's 
successor.  He  attempted  more  than  any  of  his  predecessors : 
(1)  He  had  mental  arithmetic  dropped  as  a  separate  branch 
of  instruction.  (2)  He  undertook  to  revolutionize  grammar 
teaching  by  eliminating  most  of  what  is  known  as  technical 
grammar  and  by  substituting  composition  or  language  exer- 
cises instead.  (3)  He  tried  to  have  "Morals  and  Manners" 
made  a  part  of  the  course  of  study.  (4)  He  recommended 
the  following  text-books  to  be  used  by  the  teachers  as  a  guide 
or  basis  of  instruction:  Willson's  Manual,  Hadley's  Lan- 
guage Exercises,  Hooker's  Child's  Book  of  Nature,  Our  World, 
by  Mrs.  Hall,  etc. 

Mr.  Lau's  theories  tended  largely  toward  an  entire 
change  of  the  matter  used  and  methods  followed  prior  to  his 
time.  There  was  so  much  change  attempted  that  confusion 
and  uncertainty  followed  as  a  matter  of  consequence.  Such 
extensive  change  in  school  work  never  improves  the  exist- 
ing order  of  things.  School  work  is  rarely  so  bad  as  to  war- 
rant an  entire  change  in  all  that  relates  to  it. 

During  Mr.  Lau's  term  of  service,  in  1873  to  1874, 
music  and  drawing  were  added  to  the  curriculum.  Professor 
F.  W.  H.  Priem  and  Charles  F.  Zimmerman  were  appointed 
as  superintendents  thereof,  respectively.  A  normal  depart- 
ment or  division  of  instruction  was  added  to  the  high  school, 
and  Miss  Sarah  L.  Denton  was  appointed  as  teacher  thereof, 
and  Miss  Sarah  A.  Stewart  as  assistant. 

The  establishment  of  the  normal  department  proved  to 
be  the  wisest  investment  ever  made  by  the  school  board. 
Prior  to  that  time,  but  few  of  the  Milwaukee  teachers  had 
any  professional  training  other  than  what  they  acquired  by 
experience.  Year  by  year,  the  city  normal  school  graduated 
classes  of  teachers  that  were  trained  to  enter  upon  the  work 
of  teaching  with  the  experience  that  made  their  work  suc- 
cessful from  the  very  commencement.  There  is  probably  no 
other  single  factor  in  the  history  of  the  Milwaukee  schools 
that  has  contributed  so  much  to  their  high  standing  as  did 
the  city  normal  school.  Its  founders  hardly  realized  the  ex- 
tent of  its  future  influence  upon  the  Milwaukee  schools. 


448  THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

MR.  macalister's  SUPERINTENDENCY. 

In  May,  1874,  James  MacAlister  was  elected  to  the  of- 
fice of  superintendent.  He  had  been  a  principal  of  the 
schools,  ten  years  or  more  before  that  time,  and  was  at  the 
time  of  his  election  president  of  the  school  board.  Mr.  Mac- 
Alister had  unbounded  faith  in  the  normal  department,  and 
one  of  his  first  important  official  acts  was  to  recommend 
making  the  normal  department  independent  from  the  high 
school.  Miss  Sarah  Stewart  was  the  principal,  and  for  many 
years  she  gave  the  very  best  proofs  of  her  fitness  to  train  the 
graduates  of  the  high  school  to  become  teachers. 

Of  Mr.  MacAlister's  superinteiidency  of  the  Milwaukee 
schools,  much  has  already  been  said.  After  entering  upon 
the  duties  of  the  office,  he  devised  a  system  of  blanks  which 
were  intended  to  meet  every  phase  of  school  administration. 

Before  Mr.  MacAlister's  time,  the  highest  classes  of  the 
district  or  ward  schools  were  examined  in  their  respective 
schools  for  promotion  to  the  high  school.  Mr.  MacAlister,  in 
1874,  changed  this  plan  and  instituted  therefor  one  general 
examination  for  all  the  first  grades  of  the  city.  He  prepared 
the  questions,  and  called  upon  the  principals  to  assist  in  con- 
ducting the  examinations  and  examining  the  papers  of  the 
pupils.  This  plan  led  to  a  clearer  knowledge  of  the  relative 
scholarly  status  of  the  highest  grades  in  the  respective 
schools.  It  led  also  to  a  healthy  emulation  in  reaching  a 
high  standard  of  scholarship.  The  Centennial  exhibition, 
which  was  held  at  Philadelphia  in  1876,  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity of  making  an  exhibit  of  school  work,  Mr.  MacAlis- 
ter, with  the  aid  of  some  of  the  principals,  laid  out  the  plan 
of  the  exhibit  contributed  by  the  Milwaukee  schools.  It  em- 
braced specimens  of  school  work  from  all  of  the  grades  in 
which  the  pupils  were  able  to  write.  The  time  for  doing  the 
work  was  uniform  throughout  the  schools,  and,  as  soon  as 
finished,  the  work  was  forwarded  to  the  superintendent's 
office,  where  it  was  appropriately  arranged  and  classified. 
It  was  then  bound  into  one  hundred  and  fourteen  volumes. 

Large  photographs  of  the  school  buildings  were  taken 
and  framed.  A  silk  banner  was  prepared  upon  which  was 
printed  the  number  of  schools,  school  enrollment,  attendance, 
number  of  teachers,  total  cost  of  schools,  etc.  These  became 
a  part  of  the  Milwaukee  exhibit.  The  work,  and  particularly 
the  plan  of  presenting  it,  received  well-merited  distinction. 
The  presideut  of  the  commission  of  education  of  the  French 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  44^ 

Republic,  M.  Buisson,  was  so  impressed  with  the  work  that 
he  made  a  two  days'  visit  to  Milwaukee  for  the  purpose  of 
seeing  the  schools  and  studying  more  closely  the  manner  of 
doing  the  work. 

In  1878,  upon  receiving  an  invitation  from  the  educa- 
tional department  of  the  Paris  universal  exhibition,  the 
same  work  exhibited  at  the  Philadelphia  exposition  with 
some  additional  work  was  forwarded  to  Paris,  and  a  silver 
medal  was  obtained  in  recognition  of  its  merits.  Eight  vol- 
umes of  the  work  exhibited  were  given  to  Japan,  ten  to 
Italy,  and  the  remainder  was  given  to  the  minister  of 
public  instruction  of  France,  to  be  placed  in  the  pedagogical 
museum  and  library  in  Le  Palais  Bourbon.  During  the 
year  1875  to  1876,  the  school  board  redistricted  the  city,  and 
changed  the  names  of  the  schools  as  follows : 

First  ward,  Juneau  school  to  First  district  school ; 
Second  ward,  Webster  school  to  Second  district  school ; 
Second  ward,  Jefferson  school  to  Second  district  primary  \ 
Third  ward,  Jackson  school  to  Third  district  school ;  Fourth 
ward,  Plankinton  school  to  Fourth  district  school ;  Fifth 
ward,  Mitchell  school  to  Fifth  district  school ;  Sixth  ward, 
Humboldt  school  to  Sixth  district  school ;  Sixth  ward, 
Union  school  to  Sixth  district  primary ;  Seventh  ward, 
Hathaway  school  to  Seventh  district  school ;  Eighth  ward, 
Douglas  school  to  Eighth  district  school ;  Ninth  ward, 
Quentin  school  to  Ninth  district  school ;  Tenth  ward,  Wash- 
ington school  to  Tenth  district  school;  Eleventh  ward,, 
Franklin  school  to  Eleventh  district  school ;  Twelfth  ward, 
Lincoln  school  to  Twelfth  district  school.  As  the  district 
numbers  of  the  schools  corresponded  with  the  numbers  of 
the  wards,  there  was  less  difficulty  in  locating  the  schools 
than  there  had  been  when  they  were  known  by  the  personal 
names,  Juneau,  Webster,  etc. 

In  1876,  calisthenics  was  added  to  the  course  of  study, 
and  placed  under  the  general  direction  of  Professor  George 
Brosius.  As  the  teachers  were  not  all  conversant  with 
the  work,  they  were  obliged  to  attend  class  instruction  under 
Professor  Brosius,  sometimes  after  the  regular  school  hours, 
and  sometimes  on  Saturday  mornings.  This  requirement 
added  so  much  physical  labor  to  the  teachers'  work,  that 
there  was  quite  a  popular  opposition  aroused  in  consequence. 
Calisthenics  direction  was  after  a  few  years  discontinued,  as 
it  was  claimed  that  the  teachers  were  all  able  to  conduct  the 
exercises  without  special  supervision.     For  nearly  ten  years 


450  THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

there  were  no  directors  or  superintendents  of  calisthenics. 
Finally,  in  1890,  the  school  board  again  appointed  four 
special  directors  of  calisthenics  for  the  entire  city.  They 
visit  the  schools,  conduct  the  exercises,  and  thus  give  the 
teachers  the  example  of  conducting  physical  training  as 
practiced  in  the  best  turning  schools. 

Several  changes  were  made  in  the  graded  course  of 
study  during  Mr.  MacAlister's  term  of  service.  Algebra 
was  dropped  from  the  course  in  the  district  schools  and 
elementary  mensuration  and  bookkeeping  were  added. 
"The  use  of  a  text-book  in  teaching  spelling  was  discon- 
tinued. Several  of  what  were  designated  as  the  impractical 
rules  found  in  the  text-books  of  arithmetic  were  discon- 
tinued. Among  these  were  the  following:  Alligation,  pro- 
gression, both  geometrical  and  arithmetical,  and  foreign 
exchanges."  Only  the  following  tables  of  compound  numbers 
were  retained,  viz.:  Dry  measure,  wine  measure,  avoirdu- 
pois weight,  "long  measure,  square  measure  and  cubic  meas- 
ure. These  changes  were  all  intended  to  make  the  school 
work  more  practical  than  it  had  been. 

MR.    SOMERS'    SUPERINTENDENCY. 

In  May,  1878,  J.  J.  Somers  was  elected  superintendent 
-of  schools,  and  served  until  May,  1880,  when  James  Mac- 
Alister  was  again  elected.  No  change  of  moment  occurred 
during  Mr.  Somers'  administration.  During  the  summer 
of  1878  a  protracted  discussion  over  the  adoption  of  text- 
books occurred.  The  chief  fight  was  over  the  adoption  of 
a  geography.  A  part  of  the  members  of  the  school  board 
"favored  Harper's  and  a  part  the  Eclectic  geography.  The 
latter  was  finally  adopted,  and  has  remained  in  use  from 
that  time  till  the  present. 

School-book  fights  have  frequently  led  to  very  bitter 
contests.  Among  the  most  notable  strifes  of  this  kind  was 
that  which  arose  over  the  adoption  of  a  spelling  book  in 
1887,  and  that  over  the  adoption  of  a  grammar  in  1888. 
The  most  peculiar  circumstance  about  these  contests  was 
the  fact  that  the  superintendent  opposed  in  each  instance  the 
book  recommended  by  the  principals.  In  1891,  a  text-book 
in  arithmetic  was  adopted  without  consulting  either  teachers 
or  principals. 

The  text-book  question  has  other  queer  phases.  The 
queerest  is,  that  pupils  moving  from  one  city  to  another,  not 
to  speak  of  moving  from  state  to  state,  are  almost  invariably 


THE  MILWAUKEE  PUBLI6  SCHOOLS.  451 

compelled  to  provide  a  new  set  of  text-books.  There  is  room 
for  legislation  that  will  make  the  text-books  uniform,  and 
thereby  lessen  the  expense  involved.  Some  aver  that  by 
requiring  uniformity  in  text-books,  a  lower  standard  of  text- 
book will  be  the  outcome.  There  is  just  as  much  reason  to 
maintain  the  opposite  position.  There  is  no  reason  what- 
ever to  suppose  that  a  national  board,  selected  with  a  view 
to  the  competency  of  the  members  thereof,  could  not  produce 
books  quite  as  good  as  the  ones  that  are  now  written  for 
the  publishers. 

There  is  a  well-founded  complaint,  quite  often  heard, 
that  too  many  text-books  are  required  under  the  present 
system  of  education.  Milwaukee  is  probably  not  an  excep- 
tion in  this  matter.  It  is  an  indisputable  fact  that  great 
improvement  is  noticeable  in  many  of  our  text-books.  The 
readers  are  better  printed,  more  clearly  illustrated  and  more 
fittingly  arranged  with  reference  to  the  successive  mental 
development  of  pupils  for  which  they  are  intended,  than 
they  were  twenty  years  ago.  Great  improvement,  too,  is 
noticeable  in  the  arrangement  of  the  spelling  books  now 
used  as  compared  with  those  formerly  in  use.  Not  much 
improvement  has  been  made  in  the  text-books  in  grammar. 
Many  of  them  are  poorer  books  than  the  ones  used  twenty 
years  since.  Great  improvement  has  been  made  in  the 
geography  text-books.  The  matter  contained  is  more  sys- 
tematized, more  important  as  information  or  fact,  and  the 
maps  are  representative  of  the  advancement  made  in  the 
engraving  and  printing  arts. 

EVENING   SCHOOLS. 

During  Mr.  MacAlister's  last  period  of  service,  viz.,  in  the 
school  year  1880  to  1881,  evening  schools  were  first  estab- 
lished in  Milwaukee  for  both  sexes.  Three  evenings,  viz., 
Monday jWednesday  and  Friday  evenings,  the  boys'  evening 
schools  were  held ;  and  on  two  evenings  of  the  week,  viz., 
Tuesday  and  Thursday  evenings,  girls'  evening  schools  were 
held.  At  first,  the  school  board  supplied  books,  slates  and 
stationery  for  the  pupils,  and  required  a  small  fee  to  be  paid 
by  the  pupils.  This  plan  was  soon  abandoned,  as  it  was 
found  to  result  in  diminished  attendance.  For  several  years 
the  school  board  furnished  readers,  slates  and  stationery  for 
evening  schools  free.  This  plan  was  changed  two  years  ago, 
and  pupils  since  then  have  been  required  to  furnish  their 


452  THE  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

own  books.  The  pay  of  the  evening  school  teachers  has 
been,  for  mogt  of  the  time,  two  dollars  per  night  for  assist- 
ants, and  two  and  a  half  dollars  for  principals.  In  1890^ 
most  of  the  principals  refused  to  teach  for  two  dollars  and  a 
half  per  night,  as  they  had  during  one  winter  received  three 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  night.  The  school  board  refused 
to  increase  their  pay,  hence  many  of  the  principals  discon- 
tinued serving. 

A  good  deal  of  disappointment  has  been  experienced  in 
evening  school  work.  As  a  rule,  the  attendance  is  quite 
large  when  they  are  first  opened  in  the  fall,  but  it  gradually 
decreases  as  the  term  advances.  Several  expedients  have 
been  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  securing  greater  regularity 
of  attendance.  So  far,  it  is  not  claimed  by  any  one  that  a 
cure  has  been  found.  One  thing  has  been  noticed  by  all 
evening  school>  teachers,  and  that  is  that  the  persons  that 
need  to  use  them  most  are  the  ones  who  are  the  most 
irregular  in  their  attendance.  Pupils  who  have  progressed 
into  or  beyond  the  middle  grades  of  the  district  day  schools 
are  the  ones  who  make  the  best  use  of  the  evening  school,, 
viz. :  they  are  the  most  regular  in  attendance  as  well  as  the 
most  diligent  pupils.  The  cost  of  the  evening  schools  for  the 
year  1884  to  1885,  for  teachers'  and  janitors'  salaries,  was 
$4,742.25,  and  for  the  year  1890  to  1891,  $5,449.75.  The 
minimum  number  of  pupils  for  whom  the  school  board  ap- 
portions one  evening  school  teacher,  is  fourteen.  Although 
this  seems  a  small  enough  number  of  pupils  for  a  teacher, 
still  it  seems  difficult  to  assure  even  that  number  for  the 
entire  term.  The  chief  cause  for  the  seeming  lack  of  inter- 
est in  the  evening  schools  arises  from  the  fact  that  most  of 
the  young  boys  that  attend,  work  during  the  day,  and  hence 
are  too  tired  to  have  much  enthusiasm  for  books,  slates,  or 
for  work  involving  their  use.  There  is  one  evil  consequence 
that  grows  out  of  evening  schools.  It  is  this:  Many  poor 
people  withdraw  their  boys  and  girls  from  the  day  schools, 
to  engage  in  low-priced  jobs,  under  the  mistaken  belief  that 
they  can  get  as  much  education  as  is  needful  in  the  evening 
schools.  The  school  board  has  found  some  difficulty  in  secur- 
ing suitable  -teachers  for  the  evening  schools.  Many  who 
apply  to  teach  and  are  employed,  prove  to  be  utterly  unfit  for 
the  work.  Judgment,  tact,  energy,  organizing  capacity  are  the 
indispensable  requisites  in  good  evening  school  teachers. 
The  difficulties  in  the  evening  school  problem  are  not  yet 
entirelv  removed. 


Mr.  Anderson,  ex-superintendent  of  the  Milwaukee  public 
schools,  was  born  at  Rugby,  England.  He  came  to  Wisconsin  at 
about  twelve  years  of  age  to  engage  in  farming.  At  seventeen  years 
of  age  he  volunteered  in  the  twenty-second  Wisconsin  infantry,  fol- 
lowed the  war  to  the  close,  having  made  the  memorable  march  to 
the  sea  with  Sherman's  army  before  he  was  twenty  years  of  age. 
For  two  or  three  years  after  he  was  mustered  out  he  spent  his 
time  in  working  in  a  machine  shop  and  preparing  for  admission 
to  college.  As  a  means  of  earning  the  support  for  this  under- 
taking, he  planned  teaching  for  two  or  three  years.  Entering 
the  normal  school  at  Whitewater,  he  soon  became  an  enthusias- 
tic student  of  pedagogy,  and  abandoned  the  purpose  of  becom- 
ing an  engineer.  After  graduating,  he  taught  one  term  at 
Brookfield,  and  then  was  appointed  principal  of  the  union  high 
school  at  Waukesha,  where  he  remained  three  j-ears.  He  was 
appointed  to  the  principalshj^p  of  the  Fifth  district  school  of 
Milwaukee,  Avhich  place  he  occupied  for  nearly  eight  years.  At 
the  age  of  thirt\'-seven  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  schools 
of  Milwaukee.  He  held  this  place  for  nine  3'ears,  and  then 
accepted  an  agency  in  the  Northwestern  Mutual  life  insurance 
company  of  Milwaukee,  but  is  still  interested  in  education,  and 
willing  to  serve  the  cause  as  a  private  citizen. 

He  was  the  author  of  the  Manual  of  Matter  and  Method,  a 
Avork  which  supplemented  the  usual  bare  outlines  of  the  city 
school  curriculum,  with  full  and  complete  directions  on  the 
methods  best  fitted  to  the  particular  subject  and  grade  ;  and  at 
that  time  a  new  departure  in  the  style  of  publishing  courses  of 
study  for  city  schools.  The  work  has  been  widely  distributed 
and  in  some  places  the  suggestions  on  method  appropriated 
wholesale  without  acknowledgment. 

Besides  the  attention  ^Ir.  Anderson  has  given  to  the  im- 
provement of  methods  of  instruction,  he  has  introduced  the  teach- 
ing of  science  by  experiments  throughout  all  the  higher  grades. 
He  has  always  been  interested  in  education  in  the  state  at  large, 
has  been  president  of  the  state  association,  member  of  the  board 
of  regents  of  normal  schools,  and  at  the  present  time,  is  chair- 
man of  the  state  committee  on  educational  exhibit  for  the 
Columbian  exposition.  , 


THE  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  455 

MR.  Anderson's  superintendency. 

April  3,  1883,  James  MacAlister  resigned  the  office  of 
■superintendent  of  schools  to  accept  a  similar  position  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia.  At  a  special  meeting  held  soon  after, 
William  E.  Anderson  was  elected  superintendent,  and  served 
till  March,  1892,  a  period  of  almost  nine  years. 

The  special  changes  that  were  made  during  Mr.  Ander- 
son's term  of  service  include  the  following:  Teachers' 
meetings  were  held  oftener  than  they  had  been  prior  to  his 
time.  True,  the  other  superintendents  called  meetings,  but 
not  nearly  as  often.  An  entire  change  in  the  method  of 
language  teaching  was  attempted.  Reproduction,  from 
memory,  combination  of  separate  statements  into  one  state- 
ment, paragraph  writing,  are  some  of  the  new  features  of 
what  was  attempted  in  the  upper  grades.  A  very  limited 
amount  of  technical  grammar  was  taught  in  the  fifth,  sixth, 
and  seventh  grades.  But  the  work  in  the  eighth  grade  was 
confined  to  so-called  construction  exercises,  the  basis  of  which 
work  is  found  in  Swinton's  New  Composition. 

There  is  considerable  division  of  sentiment  as  to  the 
merits  of  the  plans  which  have  been  followed  for  some  years 
past.  In  the  year  1884  to  1885,  Mr.  Anderson  recom- 
mended the  introduction  of  experimental  physics  into  the 
eighth  grade.  Since  then  this  has  been  a  part  of  the  eighth 
grade  work.  Some  of  the  work  formerly  included  in  the 
physical  geography  work  of  the  eighth  grade  was  dropped. 
There  is  now  less  of  the  geographical  part  of  the  work  than 
there  was  formerly.  Five  years  ago,  viz.,  during  the  year 
1887  to  1888,  a  text-book  in  spelling  was  adopted.  For 
many  years  prior  to  that  time  there  was  no  text-book  used. 
Formerly  all  of  the  branches  taught  in  the  eighth  grade 
were  continued  till  the  close  of  that  year's  work.  Mr.  Ander- 
son adopted  the  plan  of  finishing  geography  and  United  States 
history  in  the  seventh  grade,  civil  government  at  the  close 
of  the  first  term  of  the  eighth  grade  year,  arithmetic  and 
mensuration  at  the  close  of  the  second  term,  and  the  other 
branches  at  the  close  of  the  year.  This  plan  has  some 
advantages  and  some  disadvantages.  It  is  probably  advan- 
tageous to  very  strong  pupils,  but  not  to  the  weaker  ones. 

iSIore  attention  has  been  given  to  supplementary  read- 
ing since  Mr.  Anderson's  term  of  service  began  than  had 
-ever  been  given  to  it  before.  Many  of  the  district  schools 
have  now  quite  a  large  collection  of  well-selected  supplement- 


454  THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

ary  reading  matter.  As  a  means  of  interesting  pupils  in 
reading,  and  as  •  a  means  of  imparting  useful  knowledge, 
supplementary  reading  matter  adds  very  much  to  the  scope 
of  the  possibilities  of  what  may  be  gained  in  school  reading. 
In  the  year  1888  to  1889,  the  cooking  school  was  added 
to  the  Milwaukee  public  schools  as  a  department  of  special 
instruction.  Girls  from  the  fifth  grade  upward  are  eligible 
to  receive  the  instruction.  Two  classes  from  each  school  have 
been  taught  each  year.  The  course  embraces  ordinarily  about 
twenty  lessons,  and  includes  most  of  the  essential  branches 
of  cooking.  Mesdames  Young,  Sanderson,  Pereles  and 
Crosby  deserve  great  credit  (1)  for  establishing  a  cooking 
school  which  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  the  schemes  ; 
(2)  for  convincing  the  school  board  of  the  necessity  of  adopt- 

During  Mr.  MacAlister's  period  of  service  as  superin- 
tendent, in  1877,  he  recommended  the  consolidation  of  the 
upper  grades'.  The  proposition  was  not  at  that  time  ap- 
proved by  the  school  board.  The  same  proposition  was 
advocated  by  Mr.  Anderson,  and  during  the  year  1891  to 
1892,  it  was  applied  to  certain  schools.  The  eighth  grade 
of  the  Ninth  ward  was  consolidated  with  that  of  the  Second,^ 
and  that  of  the  Twelfth  with  that  of  the  Eleventh.  The 
object  professed  to  be  subserved  w^as  to  make  room  for 
ncreasing  numbers  in  the  lower  grades,  and  also  to  save 
expense  in  teaching  the  upper  grade.  The  proposition  has 
not  been  received  with  popular  approval.  Many  hold  that 
the  removal  of  the  highest  grades  from  a  school  deprives  it 
of  the  link  that  connects  the  school  with  the  high  school, 
and  hence  removes  a  powerful  agency  for  inducing  pupils 
of  the  district  schools  to  try  to  win  the  coveted  distinction 
which  the  diploma  of  graduation  confers.  It  is  also  main- 
tained that  the  rooms  occupied  by  the  higher  grades  are  not 
suited  either  by  position  or  by  desk  accommodation  for 
low^er  grade  pupils.     The  saving,  it  is  held,  is  not  much. 

THE  SCHOOL  FOR  DEAF-MUTES. 

In  September,  1885,  the  school  board  gave  the  use  of 
a  room  in  the  primary  school  building,  on  the  corner  of 
Seventh  and  Prairie  streets,  to  be  used  for  the  instruction  of 
deaf-mutes.  Mr.  Paul  Binner  was  chosen  as  instructor.  The 
state  legislature,  during  the  session  of  1885,  provided  by 
enactment  for  the  support  of  said  school,  by  making  an 
allowance  of  one  hundred  dollars  per  annum  for  each 
pupil. 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  455- 

When  first  opened  the  school  for  deaf-mutes  was  sup- 
ported by  a  humane  society  known  as  the  Wisconsin  phono- 
logical institute,  of  which  \Ir.  R.  C.  Spencer  has  been  presi- 
dent ever  since  it  was  founded.  Since  the  opening  of  the 
school  the  principal,  Professor  Binner,  visited  Europe  for 
the  purpose  of  examining  into  the  methods  of  instruction 
practiced  there.  The  oral  or  articulate  method  of  instruc- 
tion is  practiced,  and  the  graduates  of  this  school  are  ena- 
bled thereby  to  enter  the  high  school  and  take  instruction 
under  ordinary  teachers. 

Printing  is  taught  in  this  school  as  a  branch  of  manual 
training.  Oral  instruction,  however,  embraces  shoemaking^ 
carpentry,  book-binding,  etc. 

W^hen  Professor  Binner  first  took  charge  of  the  school 
he  had  eight  pupils,  but  when  it  became  a  part  of  the  public 
school  system,  in  1885,  it  had  twenty-six  pupils.  The  en- 
rollment is  now  forty -one.  At  first.  Professor  Binner  was  the 
only  teacher  in  the  school,  now  he  has  five  assistants.  The 
average  age  of  pupils  entering  the  deaf-mute  school  is  eight 
and  one-half  years,  and  the  average  age  at  time  of  graduation 
seventeen  years.  All  the  branches  taught  in  the  other 
schools,  except  singing,  form  the  course  of  study  in  the  deaf- 
mute  school.  There  are  now  about  twenty -five  such  schools 
in  this  country,  viz.,  deaf-mute  schools  taught  by  the  oral 
method.     The  advantages  of  this  method  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  deaf  are  given  the  power  of  speech,  are 
taught  to  read  the  speech  of  others,  and  are  thus  brought 
into  nearer  relations  with  their  fellow-men  who  are  not  thus 
aftlicted. 

2.  The  graduates  are  enabled  to  speak  with  their 
employers,  to  take  orders  "from  their  lips,"  and  are  not  de- 
pendent upon  writing  as  a  means  of  transacting  their 
duties. 

The  state  appropriation  of  $100  dollars  for  each  pupil 
taught  is  quite  liberal,  but  not  quite  enough  to  defray  all  of 
the  expenses  incurred.  Milwaukee  can  well  afford  to  supply 
the  deficiency.  This  is  one  of  the  latest  accessions  to  our 
Milwaukee  school  system,  and  one  to  which  all  may  point  with 
pride. 

MR.  peckham's  superintendency. 

After  nine  years  of  service,  Mr.  Anderson  was  super- 
seded by  Mr.  George  W.  Peckham  at  the  school  board  meet- 
ing in  March,  1892.     Mr.  Peckham  was  connected  with  the 


450  THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

Milwaukee  high  school  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  for  the 
past  eight  years  was  principal.  The  Milwaukee  high  school 
has  had  the  following  principals  since  its  opening  on  the 
first  Wednesday  in  January,  1868  :  August  Gaylord,  J.  C. 
Pickard,  S.  R.  Winchell,  Albert  Hardy,  J.  J.  Mapel,  George 
W.  Peckham,  A.  J.  Rogers.  Mr.  Peckham's  term  of  service 
was  longer  than  that  of  any  of  his  predecessors. 

During  Mr.  Anderson's  term  of  service  as  superintend- 
ent, in  the  year  1889,  an  "  assistant  superintendent "  was 
elected  in  accordance  with  an  act  passed  by  the  legislature  of 
the  same  year.  The  superintendent  has  the  power  of  nomi- 
nating the  assistant.  The  choice  of  a  person  to  fill  the  of- 
fice therefore  devolved  upon  Mr.  Anderson,  and  he  named 
Mr.  H.  O.  R.  Siefert  as  the  first  incumbent  of  the  new  office. 

The  assistant  superintendent  has  renewed  the  work  of 
examining  classes  in  the  schools.  In  doing  this  work  he 
has  given  the  superintendent  more  time  for  attending  to 
the  general  duties  of  his  office.  At  the  time  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  Siefert,  in  1 889,  the  superintendent's  salary  was 
raised  from  $3,000  to  $4,000  per  year,  and  the  assistant 
superintendent's  salary  was  fixed  at  $2,500  per  year. 

The  salary  of  the  secretary  of  the  school  board  was, 
at  the  same  time,  raised  from  $1,400  to  $2,000  per  annum, 
and  his  compensation  for  taking  the  annual  school  census 
from  $600  to  $1,000. 

In  1881,  during  Mr.  MacAlister's  second  period  of  ser- 
vice as  superintendent  of  schools,  a  single  kindergarten 
school  was  opened. 

KINDERGARTENS. 

The  popular  appreciation  of  kindergarten  work  is  best 
told  in  the  bare  statement  that  at  the  present  time  there  are 
thirty  kindergartens  and  fifty-seven  kindergarten  teachers 
in  the  Milwaukee  public  school  system.  The  October  re- 
port for  1892  showed  an  enrollment  of  3,165  pupils  in  the 
various  kindergartens,  which  was  11.7  per  cent,  of  the  en- 
tire enrollment. 

The  amount  paid  for  salaries  of  kindergarten  teachers 
for  the  year  1891  to  1892  was  $25,650,  and  the  total  expense, 
including  salaries,  pianos,  tuning  pianos,  and  material  used, 
was  $28,502.55.  The  entire  amount  paid  for  teachers' 
:salaries  in  the  year  1861  to  1862,  which  is  just  thirty  years 
-ago,  was  $25,052.58  ;  i.  e.,  $597.42  more  was  paid  for  kinder- 
.garten  teaching  in  the  year  1891  to  1892  than  was  paid  the 


THE    MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCUOOLS.  457 

sixty-nine  teachers  that  constituted  the  whole  Milwaukee 
corps  of  teachers  in  the  year  1861  to  1862.  The  pay  of  prin- 
cipals of  schools  in  the  latter  year  was  $800 ;  now  it  is  $1,700; 
that  of  the  highest  assistant  teacher  $400  ;  now  it  is  $900 ; 
that  of  the  lowest  priced  assistant  $250 ;  now  it  is  $450.  Most 
of  the  assistant  teachers  at  the  present  time  receive  $600  per 
annum,  salary. 

Kindergarten  directors  receive  the  maximum  salary  of 
$600,  and  assistants  $450  per  annum.  We  may  be  able  to 
estimate  the  growth  of  kindergarten  w^ork  and  its  expenses 
by  a  comparison  with  the  year  1885  to  1886:  In  the  latter 
year  there  were  nineteen  kindergarten  teachers ;  now  there 
are  fifty -seven,  gain  200  per  cent.;  then  there  were  945  pupils 
enrolled,  now  there  are  3,195,  gain  235  per  cent.  Then  the 
total  kindergarten's  annual  pay-roll  was  $8,999.92  ;•  while  in 
the  year  1891  to  1892,  it  was  $25,650,  increase  185  per  cent. 
The  increase  for  the  present  year  will  be  much  larger,  as 
several  new  kindergartens  were  opened  at  the  commence- 
ment of  this  year. 

A  glance  at  these  figures  will  convince  anyone  that 
kindergarten  enrollment,  kindergarten  teachers,  and  kinder- 
garten expenses,  grow  far  more  rapidly  than  the  general 
enrollment,  the  general  corps  of  teachers,  and  the  general 
expenses  of  the  schools.  That  there  may  be  no  question 
about  the  facts,  the  following  are  the  actual  figures  : 


Average  Number  Enrolled. 

Total  Expense  of  Schools. 

Whole  Number 
ot  Teachers. 

1890  to  1891 23,635 

$460,389.05 
1273,630.06 

538 

1885  to  1886 16,615 

378 

Increase 7,020 

"       42^ 

8186,758.99 
68% 

160 

42% 

Since  the  kindergarten  enrollment,  expense,  and  num- 
ber of  teachers  are  included  in  this  estimate,  the  increase  of 
the  latter  would  be  still  greater  if  the  comparisons  were  made 
with  the  enrollment,  expense,  and  number  of  teachers  in  all 
the  other  branches  of  school  work.  It  may  be  claimed  that 
it  did  not  exist  at  all  prior  to  ten  or  eleven  years  ago,  and 
that  it  has  now  reached  into  a  larger  proportion  of  the 
schools  of  the  city.  These  facts  will  not  be  questioned.  Still 
there  will  be  room  for  inquiry  as  to  causes  of  said  abnormal 
growth  in  the  kindergarten  department. 

The  friends  of  kindergarten  work  should  be  more  in- 
terested than  any  one  else  in  preventing  unreasonable 
increase  of  expense  in  this  department,  for  a  sure  way  to 


458  THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

bring  about  the  abandonment  of  any  department  is  to  make 
it  too  expensive. 

Of  the  vakie  of  kindergarten  work  there  exists  consider- 
able difference  of  opinion  even  among  school-men  and  school- 
women.  No  one  denies  its  utility  as  a  means  of  making  the 
first  year  of  school  life  attractive  and  therefore  agreeable  to 
the  pupil.  Its  music,  games,  marching,  and  handwork  are 
all  attractive.  But  when  the  pupil  leaves  the  kindergarten 
and  takes  up  the  slate,  pencil  and  book,  he  begins  something 
which  is  entirely  new,  and  not  a  continuation  of  his  kinder- 
garten experience.     But  free  kindergartens  will  remain. 

GERMAN  IN  THE    SCHOOLS. 

The  very  large  proportion  of  German-speaking  patrons 
of  the  Milwaukee  public  schools  was  the  cause  of  making 
German  a  branch  of  the  course  of  instruction.  In  the  Ger- 
man-speaking districts,  such  as  the  Second,  Sixth,  and 
Ninth,  German  was  spoken  and  incidentally  taught  even 
before  the  school  board  made  it  a  part  of  the  course  of  in- 
struction in  1867.  Teachers  of  German  were  at  first  ap- 
pointed only  for  those  schools  in  which  the  German-speak- 
ing children  largely  predominated.  Soon  after,  however, 
the  argument  was  presented,  that  there  were  some  German- 
speaking  children  in  all  of  the  schools,  also  that  there  were 
many  others  who  desired  to  study  German.  The  advantage 
of  understanding  a  language,  which  was  spoken  by  more 
than  half  of  the  whole  population,  could  not  be  questioned. 
There  was  another  reason  advanced  for  the  study  of  Ger- 
man in  the  public  schools,  and  that  was,  that  it  afforded  the 
surest  means  of  leading  the  German-speaking  children  into 
the  public  schools,  and  thereby  to  learn  the  English  lan- 
guage. Soon  after  the  adoption  of  German  as  a  part  of  the 
course  of  instruction,  there  was  a  marked  increase  of  en- 
rollment in  the  public  schools,  and  a  corresponding  de- 
crease in  the  German  private  schools.  In  July,  1869,  three 
of  the  Mitchell  prizes  were  given  for  the  best  German  trans- 
lations. F.  C.  AVinkler,  P.  V.  Deuster,  and  Carl  Kunz,  were 
the  members  of  the  committee  that  made  the  decision,  and 
August  Schattenberg  of  the  Quentin  or  Ninth  ward;  Her- 
man Weeks,  of  the  Humboldt  or  Sixth  ward,  and  Albert 
Schloemilch,  also  of  the  Humboldt  school,  were  the  pupils 
that  won  the  prizes — $15,  $10,  and  $5,  respectiveh'. 

For  the  first  three  years  after  the  adoption  of  German, 
there  were  no  formal  reports   as  to  numbers  studying  that 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  459 

language.  In  fact,  the  records  contain  but  little,  if  any, 
reference  to  it.  >Jovember  1, 1870,  the  school  board  adopted 
the  following  rules:  (1)  Applicants  for  the  position  of  teacher 
of  the  German  language  should  not  be  deemed  qualified  for 
such  position  until  they  had  passed  a  satisfactory  examina- 
tion, showing  their  capability  of  writing  and  teaching  both 
the  English  and  German  languages.  (2)  Monthly  reports  to 
the  superintendent  should,  after  that  time,  include  the  num- 
ber and  percentage  of  those  studying  the  German  language 
in  the  respective  grades.  (3)  Pupils  studying  the  German 
language  presented  for  promotion  should  be  examined  with 
reference  to  their  proficiency  in  that  language.  The  Second, 
Ninth  and  Sixth  ward  schools  were  the  exemplars  in  Ger- 
man-teaching proficiency.  Principals  Lau,  Hillmantel  and 
"Wahl  took  charge  of  the  work,  and  German,  in  their  hands, 
.attained  a  high  rank  of  proficiency.  In  the  English-speak- 
ing schools,  German  has  made  but  slow  progress,  especially 
among  English-speaking  children.  In  a  few  instances, 
it  is  true,  individual  pupils  of  the  latter  class  have  mastered 
the  power  to  speak  and  write  the  German  language.  For 
many  years  after  its  introduction,  the  supervisor  of  the 
teaching  of  German  was  not  especially  provided  for  under 
the  rules  of  the  school  board.  In  the  year  1886,  Mr.  B.  A. 
Abrams,  who  had  been  teacher  of  German  in  the  high 
school,  was  appointed  as  superintendent  or  director  of  the 
teaching  of  German.  Since  then  about  one  half  of  his  time 
has  been  devoted  to  the  work  in  the  high  school,  and  the 
other  half  to  the  supervision  of  the  work  in  the  other 
schools.     This  has  resulted  in  a  marked  improvement. 

The  whole  number  of  teachers  of  German  in  the  employ 
of  the  school  board  in  the  year  1871  to  1872  was  eight,  one 
of  whom  was  in  the  high  school,  and  one  each  in  the  First, 
Third,  Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth  and  Ninth  ward  schools. 
For  the  year  ending  July  3, 1871,  3,543  were  reported  as  study- 
ing German  out  of  a  total  enrollment  of  7,632,  or  forty-six 
and  one-half  per  cent.  Of  the  number  studying  German, 
2,596  were  reported  of  German  parentage,  or  seventy-three 
per  cent.  In  the  year  1890  to  1891  the  total  enrollment  of 
pupils  was  25,303,  of  which  number  the  total  enrollment  of 
those  studying  German  was  16,255,  or  seventy-three  per  cent. 
This  shows  that  the  proportion  studying  German,  compared 
-with  the  whole  enrollment,  is  about  the  same  as  it  was  twenty 
years  ago.  The  salaries  paid  for  teaching  German  in  the 
year  1870  to  1871  amounted  to  $9,380,  and  the  whole  amount 


460  THE    MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

paid  in  salaries  for  that  year  was  $92,991.30.  The  whole 
amount  paid  for  German  teaching  in  that  year  was  10.9  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  amount  paid  as  teachers'  salaries.  In 
the  year  1876  to  1877  there  were  206  teachers  employed,  of 
whom  fourteen,  or  6.8  per  cent.,  were  teachers  of  German. 
During  that  year  the  average  enrollment  for  the  Milwaukee 
public  schools  was  9,581,  of  which  number  5,703  were 
studying  German,  or  almost  60  per  cent.  The  total  amount 
paid  as  teachers'  salaries  for  the  year  1890  to  1891  was 
$346,929.50,  of  which  sum  $40,950  was  paid  to  teachers  of 
German,  or  11.8  per  cent.  ;  536  teachers  were  employed 
during  that  year,  of  whom  fifty-four  were  teacehrs  of  Ger- 
man, or  more  than  10  per  cent. 

THE   HIGH   SCHOOL. 

In  accordance  with  Chapter  252,  of  Local  Laws  of  the 
Wisconsin  legislature  of  1867,  the  Milwaukee  high  school 
M'as  opened  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  June,  1868.  At  first 
theschool  was  held  in  a  room  in  the  Hathaway  or  Seventh  ward 
school.  The  course  of  study  first  laid  out  embraced  the  follow- 
ing branches :  Algebra,  geometry,  surveying,  natural  philoso- 
phy, chemistry,  astronomy,  physiology,  geology,  natural 
history,  botany,  Greek,  Latin,  French,  German,  English 
analysis,  rhetoric,  general  history,  political  economy,  consti- 
tution of  the  L"^nited  States,  mental  philosophy. 

The  present  course  of  study  in  the  high  school  is  as 
follows :  Algebra,  science  of  common  things,  drawing, 
etymology,  arithmetic,  physiology,  general  history,  physics, 
rhetoric,  chemistry,  English  history,  biology,  English  liter- 
ature, American  constitutional  history,  political  economy, 
English  classics,  Latin,  Greek,  German,  French,  psychology, 
trigonometry,  geometry,  ancient  history,  geology,  astronomy, 
bookkeeping,  short-hand,  type-writing,  letter-writing,  criti- 
cism. There  are  now  six  optional  courses  in  the  Milwaukee 
high  school,  viz. :  High  school,  college  preparatory  or 
classical,  college  preparatory  or  general  science,  German 
normal,  normal,  business.  The  first  requires  four  years ; 
second,  four  years ;  third,  three  years;  fourth,  four  years; 
fifth,  three  years;  sixth,  three  years. 

The  Milwaukee  high  school,  since  it  was  opened  in  1868, 
has  had  seven  different  principals,  viz.,  Gaylord,  Pickard, 
Winchell,  Hardy,  Mapel,  Peckham  and  Rogers.  Its  corps  of 
assistants,  as  a  rule,  have  been  more  constant.  Messrs. 
Peckham  and  Rogers,  both  of  whom  have  been  principals, 


THE  MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  461 

were  connected  with  the  school  for  almost  twenty  years. 
The  high  standing  of  the  high  school  is  due  chiefly  to  the 
following  causes :  (1)  the  high  standing  required  for  admis- 
sion ;  (2)  able  men  and  women  have  been  employed  in  the 
school  as  teachers  and  as  principals. 

The  whole  number  enrolled  for  the  first  year  was  100, 
^ind  for  the  presetit  year  687. 

Within  the  next  year  there  will  be  another  high  school, 
which  will  be  located  on  the  South  side. 

SPECIAL  BRANCHES. 

A  manual  training  class  was  begun  in  September,  1891, 
as  a  part  of  the  high  school  work.  H.  M.  Woodward  was 
appointed  as  director.  Only  wood  has  thus  far  been  used 
in  the  manual  training  work. 

Quite  early  in  the  history  of  the  Milwaukee  schools, 
music  was  practised  as  the  first  part  of  each  day's  pro- 
gramme. So  much  interest  was  taken  that  a  melodeon  was 
purchased  for  each  school  in  1859.  But  technical  music  was 
not  begun  till  the  year  1872  to  1873,  when  three  professors 
of  music,  viz.,  Ehlman,  Kuschbert  and  Heiss,  were  ap- 
pointed. Professor  Ehlman  had  direction  of  music  in  the 
South  side  and  in  the  Fourth  ward  schools.  Professor  Kusch- 
bert in  the  northwest  schools,  and  Professor  Heiss  in  the 
East  side  schools. 

In  the  year  1873  to  1874,  Professor  F.  W.  H.  Priem  was 
appointed  as  superintendent  of  music  for  the  entire  city. 
His  work  was  divided  into  three  parts  : 

(1)  To  instruct  the  teachers. 

(2)  To  conduct  musical  instruction  in  the  high  school 
and  in  the  three  higher  grades  of  the  ward  schools. 

(3)  To  conduct  monthly  examinations  in  the  other  grades 
cf  the  ward  schools. 

He  organized  a  concert,  which  was  given  in  the  Academy 
of  Music,  ^larch  5, 1874.  The  chorus  consisted  of  fully  1,000 
voices,  made  up  of  pupils  from  the  high  school  and  from 
the  ward  schools.  It  was  a  great  success.  Professor  Priem 
served  till  the  close  of  the  school  year,  1879  to  1880.  Pro- 
fessor Ehlman  was  appointed  as  his  successor,  and  has  served 
€ver  since  then. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1873  to  1874,  Charles 
F.  Zimmerman  was  appointed  superintendent  of  drawing 
and  served  till  the  year  1878  to  1879,  when  Miss  Hannah 
M.    Brown  was   appointed   as   his   successor.     Miss   Brown 


462  THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS, 

served  till  1883,  when  Mr.  Caleb  N.  Harrison  was  appointed 
as  her  successor.  Mr.  Harrison  served  till  the  close  of  first 
term  in  1893.  The  "  Walter  Smith  "  system  of  drawing  was 
adopted  at  first,  but  after  Mr.  Harrison  began  service  as 
director  of  drawing  instruction  the  Prang  system  was  adopted. 
Drawing  has  attained  considerable  success  in  the  Milwaukee 
schools.  Many  of  the  high  school  pupils  have  succeeded  in 
securing  positions  as  draughtsmen  in  architects'  offices. 

Singing  has  always  ranked  high  in  the  Milwaukee 
schools.  For  many  years  the  Tonic  Sol-Fa  system  was  prac- 
tised. This  was  finally  discontinued  and  the  Mason  music 
readers  were  introduced  instead. 

THE  SCHOOL  BOARD. 

The  Milwaukee  school  board,  as  first  organized  in  1846, 
consisted  of  three  school  commissioners  from  each  ward,  ap- 
pointed by  the  common  council.  March  17,  1859,  the  state 
legislature  repealed  the  former  law  and  enacted  that,  com- 
mencing with  the  next  school  year,  the  Milwaukee  school 
board  should  consist  of  two  members  from  each  ward.  Com- 
mencing with  the  school  year  1859  to  1860  and  continuing 
till  now,  the  present  representation,  two  school  commissioners 
from  each  ward,  has  existed.  The  school  board  at  present 
consists  of  thirty-six  members,  viz.,  two  for  each  of  tho 
eighteen  wards.  Formerly  the  full  term  of  the  school  com- 
missioners was  two  years,  but  the  law  was  amended  by  the 
last  legislature  fixing  the  term  at  three  years.  As  the  law 
now  stands,  at  least  one-half  of  the  school  board  will  have 
two  years'  experience.  Under  the  old  law,  one-half  of  the 
board  might  have  but  one  year's  experience.  The  officers  of 
the  board  are  a  president,  secretary,  superintendent  and 
assistant  superintendent.  The  board  grants  the  superin- 
tendent the  services  of  a  clerk  and  typewriter — the  latter  is 
also  a  stenographer — and  the  secretary  a  clerk.  The  school 
board  has  entire  control,  under  the  city  charter  and  laws  of 
the  state,  of  all  school  matters — except  the  selection  and 
purchase  of  sites,  and  the  erection  and  repair  of  buildings, 
which  are  controlled  by  the  board  of  aldermen. 

The  board  has  power  (1)  to  elect  its  own  officers,  (2)  to 
appoint  teachers,  and  fix  salaries  thereof,  (3)  to  make  rules 
for  the  government  of  the  schools,  (4)  to  estimate  the  amounts 
necessary  for  the  proper  maintenance  of  the  schools,  (5)  to 
appoint  janitors,  (6)  to  purchase  school  supplies  and  fuel,  (7) 
to  select  text  books,  (8)  to  require  obedience  to  laws  and  rules- 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBUC  SCHOOLS.  463 

governing  the  schools.  Tliese  are  the  chief  powers  exer- 
cised by  the  Milwaukee  school  board.  This  board  has 
been  singularly  free  from  political  influences.  Republi- 
can aldermen  have  nominated  democratic  school  commis- 
sioners, and  democratic  aldermen  have  nominated  republi- 
can school  commissioners.  Inside  the  school  board,  politics 
are  unknown.  In  the  appointment  of  teachers  and  in  the 
election  of  school  board  officers,  they  have  never  been  known 
to  exert  any  influence. 

The  meetings  of  the  board  are  held  on  the  first  Tuesday 
of  each  month,  and  the  monthly  meeting  held  in  May  is 
designated  as  the  annual  meeting,  at  which  the  president  is 
elected.  One  half  of  the  board  is  elected  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing as  the  executive  committee.  Through  the  executive  com- 
mittee, all  appointments  are  made,  viz.:  This  committee 
nominates,  and  the  board  confirms  or  rejects  the  nomina- 
tions. The  other  standing  committees  are  "high  school, 
finance,  German,  examinations,  text  books,  supplies,  print- 
ing, evening  schools,  industrial  and  art  education,  rules, 
libraries,  discipline,  council  legislation,  buildings,  visiting, 
apportionment  of  teachers,  truancy,  non-residents,  kinder- 
gartens, school  for  deaf." 

Standing  committees  meet  upon  the  call  of  the  respect- 
ive chairmen.  The  following  committees  meet  regularly  at 
the  time  specified,  unless  otherwise  ordered : 

High  School — On  the  Thursday  next  preceding  the 
monthly  meeting  of  the  board,  at  8  p.  m. 

Finance — On  the  Monday  next  preceding  the  monthly 
meeting  of  the  board,  at  7:30  p.  m. 

Executive — On  the  Friday  next  preceding  the  monthly 
meeting  of  the  board,  at  7:30  p.  m. 

School   Supplies — On   the   Friday   next  preceding  the 
monthly  meeting  of  the  board,  at  7  p.  m. 
mcePrinting — On  the  Friday  next   preceding  the   monthly 

ting  of  the  board,  at  7  p.  m. 

The  school  year  begins  on  the  first  Monday  of  Septem- 
ber, and  closes  on  July  3,  unless  otherwise  ordered.  The  first 
term  closes  December  23.  The  second  term  begins  on  the 
second  of  January,  unless  the  first  of  January  happens  to 
be  on  Saturday,  and  closes  on  the  Friday  next  preceding 
Palm  Sunday  (the  Sunday  next  preceding  Easter  Sunday). 
The  last  term  begins  on  the  Tuesday  next  following  Easter. 
Sunday,  and  closes  July  3.  Besides  the  foregoing,  Thanks- 
giving Day,  "Washington's  Birthday,"  and  Decoration  Day 


464 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 


(May  30),  when  they  occur  upon  school  days,  are  also  school 
holidays.  During  September,  May,  and  June,  the  schools 
open  in  the  morning  at  8:30,  and  the  forenoon  session  is 
closed  at  12:00;  and  during  the  same  months  the  afternoon 
session  begins  at  1:15  and  ends  at  3:30.  During  the  other 
months,  the  regular  time  of  opening  the  forenoon  session  is 
9  o'clock,  and  of  closing,  12  o'clock  ;  and  the  afternoon  ses- 
sion begins  at  1:15,  and  closes  at  4:15.  A  recess  of  "fifteen 
minutes  is  prescribed  for  each  session.  The  school  year 
usually  consists  of  about  400  half  days  of  actual  school  time. 

SCHOOL  LIBRARIES. 

Most  of  the  district  schools  have  school  libraries.  These 
libraries  were  first  started  by  the  efforts  of  the  principals  and 
teachers  of  the  respective  schools.  School  entertainments, 
readings,  lectures  and  picnics  were  held,  and  the  net  pro- 
ceeds used  for  the  purchase  of  books.  (In  some  instances, 
pianos  have  been  purchased  from  funds  obtained  in  the  same 
manner.)  Some  of  the  schools  have  now  more  than  one 
thousand  volumes  of  valuable  books.  Some  of  these  books 
are  used  for  reference  purposes  in  the  schools,  some  are  dis- 
tributed to  the  pupils  to  be  read  at  home,  and  a  large  pro- 
portion are  used  in  the  schools  for  supplementary  reading. 
Periodicals  are  also  purchased  for  use  in  the  schools.  For 
the  past  five  years  small  sums  have  been  allowed  by  the 
school  board  to  the  respective  schools  to  be  used  for  library 
purposes. 

EXEOLLMENTS. 


Year  Ending 


Total  Enroll- 
ment. 


Average  En- 
rollment. 


Whole  Cost. 


Average  Cost 
Per  Pupil  of 
Average  En- 
rollment. 


1853 
1857, 
1862, 
1867 
1872 
1874 
1876 
1881 
1886 
1891 
1892 


1,662 

3,353 

4,021 

9,424 

11,200 

11,750 

13,881 

17,636 

22,598 

28,074 

26,195 


5,878 

7,359 

7,474 

9.460 

12,3:^0 

16,615 

22,303 

23,635 


P    6,376  16 

23,408  00 

30,879  85 

60,836  52 

109,313  37 

141,724  14 

164,210  15 

209,768  15 

273,6:^0  06 

424,221  43 

460,398  05 


$  *3  84 
*6  98 
*7  68 
10  35 
14  86 

18  96 
17  36 
17  01 
16  47 

19  02 
19  48 


'Estimated  on  total  eorollment. 


THE   MILWAUKEE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  465 

NUMBEK  OF  TEACHERS. 

Special  teachers 10 

High  school 18 

Principals  of  district  schools 20 

Principal  of  deaf-mute  school 1 

Principals  of  primary  schools 17 

First  assistants 20 

Reserve  corps 25 

Teachers  of  German  and  assistant  teachers  of  German 57 

Kindergarten  directors  and  assistants 57 

Assistant  teachers 3b8 

Total  number  of  teachers... 613 

SAXiABIES. 

Superintendent $4,000 

Assistant  superintendent 2,500 

Secretary 2.000 

(Compensation  for  taking  school  census) 1,000 

Principals  of  district  schools 1,400 

(For  first  year,  and  $100  additional  per  year  till  salary  is  $1,700.) 

Principal  of  high  school 3,000 

Principals  of  primary  schools from  $1,050  to  1,350 

Director  of  German 2,000 

First  assistants 900 

Teachers  of  German 1,100 

Assistant  teachers  of  German 4('0 

(First  year,  and  $50  increase  till  salary  is  $650.) 
Assistant  teachers 600 

(Commencing  on  $400  and  increasing  $50  per  year.) 
Kindergarten  directors 600 

(Beginning  on  $500  and  increasing  $50  per  year.) 
Kindergarten  assistants 500 

(Beginning  on  $350  and  increasing  $50  per  year.) 

Directors  of  music  and  of  drawing 1,700 

Assistants  in  high  school from  $700  to  1,700 

Principal  of  deaf-mute  school 1,700 

Present  value  of  school  property.. $1,500,000 

Patrick  Donnelly. 


The  Green  Bay  Schools. 


EARLY   HISTORY. 


The  confidence  and  familiar  intercourse  which  the 
French  settlers  in  the  New  World  at  once  established  in 
their  relations  with  the  Indians  gave  them  an  easy  access 
to  the  unknown  interior,  quite  impossible  to  the  more 
cautious  Englishmen,  who,  regarding  their  savage  neigh- 
bors with  distrust  and  fear,  rarely  ventured  beyond  the 
coast. 

So  soon  as  they  had  made  their  first  settlements  in 
Canada,  the  French  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  and  in 
a  short  time  had  made  their  way  across  the  Great  Lakes, 
into  the  heart  of  the  wilderness.  Jean  Nicolet,  in  1639, 
visited  Green  Bay,  and  sojourning  among  the  tribes  on  Fox 
river,  made  a  treaty  with  them,  laying  the  foundations  for 
that  close  union  of  the  French  and  Indians,  which  gave  its 
character  to  the  early  settlements  of  Wisconsin. 

Father  Claudius  Allouez  opened  a  mission  at  Green 
Bay  in  1669.  With  this  date  begins  Wisconsin  history. 
For  many  long  years  Green  Bay  was  the  chief  station  in 
the  great  Northwest.  Hither  came  Joliet,  and  Marquette, 
and  La  Salle.  The  missionary  and  the  adventurer  jour- 
neyed together,  building  now  a  chapel  and  now  a  trad- 
ing-post. 

In  1745,  De  Langlade  came  from  Mackinaw  and  settled 
at  Green  Bay.  He  was  followed  by  others,  and  a  village 
grew  up  around  him.  He  became  the  leader  of  the  Indians, 
who  were  the  natural  allies  of  the  French,  in  their  frontier 
wars  with  the  British,  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  defeat 
of  Braddock. 

Green  Bay,  or  "  La  Baye,"  as  it  was  then  known,  re- 
mained essentially  a  French  settlement  even  after  formal 
possession  had  passed  to  the  British  and  an  English  fort 
had  been,  for  a  time,  maintained  here. 

One  hundred  years  ago,  while  the  Mississippi  was  still  the 
western  boundary  of  the  United  States,  and  there  were  but 
fourteen  states  in  the  Union,  the  first  schoolmaster  in  all  this 

466 


THE   GREEN   BAY  SCHOOLS.  467 

broad  northwestern  wilderness  came  to  Green  Bay.  Al- 
though education  was  not  general  among  the  early  French 
settlers,  private  instruction  was  given  in  some  instances. 
Notable  among  the  early  friends  of  education,  we  find  the 
Grignon  family.  Pierre  Grignon,  a  resident  of  Green  Bay 
prior  to  1763,  married  a  daughter  of  Charles  De  Langlade, 
the  "  fathei  of  Wisconsin."  In  1791  he  instituted  a  school 
for  his  own  children  at  his  home,  employing,  as  teacher,  Mr. 
James  Porlier. 

,  This  gentleman  was  educated  at  Montreal  and  devoted 
to  the  priesthood,  which  he  never  entered.  He  came  to 
Green  Bay  to  fill  the  office  of  clerk  for  Mr.  Grignon  and  to 
teach  his  children,  this  latter  being  then  considered  rather 
the  less  dignified  profession  of  the  two.  The  instruction 
given  under  him  was  of  a  very  simple  character.  Up  ta 
1816,  the  few  young  persons  who  were  educated  were  sent  to- 
Detroit  or  Montreal.  Mr.  Porlier  spent  a  long  and  useful  life 
in  Wisconsin,  dying  at  Green  Bay  in  1839,  after  having 
served  most  creditably  in  several  positions  of  public  trust. 

With  the  establishment  of  the  first  American  military 
post  at  Fort  Howard,  in  1816,  came  the  first  real  schools. 
In  his  "Recollections,"  Colonel  Ebenezer  Childs,  an  old 
settler,  tells  us  that  the  first  schools  were  established  soon 
after  the  advent  of  the  first  steamboat.  The  children  of  the 
garrison,  and  sometimes  those  of  the  prominent  families  in 
the  neighborhood,  were  instructed  by  the  chaplain  of  the 
post,  or,  in  some  instances,  by  some  other  person  hired  as 
teacher.  These  schools  were  under  the  supervision  of  the 
commander  of  the  post. 

From  the  year  1817  schools  seem  to  have  been  main- 
tained with  more  or  less  regularity,  not  only  at  the  fort,  but 
also  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, — Judge  Lawe,  Louis  Grig- 
non and  Lewis  Rouse  being  among  the  early  and  fast 
friends  of  education,  building  or  furnishing  school  houses,, 
and  ever  ready  with  their  influence  and  support.  All  honor 
to  these  pioneers  in  a  noble  cause.  Miss  Ursula  Grignon, 
daughter  of  Louis  Grignon,  deserves  honorable  mention 
among  the  early  teachers  of  Green  Bay.  Educated  at  a  con- 
vent in  Kentucky,  she  devoted  many  years  of  a  long  life 
passed  in  Green  Bay  to  the  instruction  of  the  young,  teach- 
ing in  private  and  in  public  schools. 

Mrs.  French,  in  her  "  History  of  Brown  County,"  states 
that  a  boarding  and  day  school  was  opened  in  1817  by  Monsieur 
and  Madame  Canon,  of  Montreal,  in  a  house  belonging  to  Judge 


468  THE   GREEN   BAY   SCHOOLS. 

Lawe.  In  the  same  year,  T.  S.  Johnson  opened  an  English 
school  on  the  West  side,  Louis  Grignon,  Judge  Lawe  and 
James  Porlier  being  among  its  patrons.  Mr.  Johnson  agreed 
to  teach  reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and  English  grammar 
for  nine  months,  at  six  dollars  a  month  for  each  scholar. 

Mr.  J.  B.  S.  Jacobs,  father  of  the  late  John  B.  Jacobs,  of 
Oreen  Bay,  taught  a  French  school  in  1821. 

Louis  Grignon  built  the  school  house  in  1822,  near  the 
present  residence  of  Mrs.  M.  L.  Martin,  and  Mr.  Amos  Hol- 
ton  was  engaged  to  teach  the  school.  Mr.  Grignon  was  its 
most  active  patron,  and  his  own  children  were  among  the 
foremost  of  its  pupils.  By  agreement  Mr.  Holton  was  to 
receive  four  dollars  per  quarter  for  each  pupil,  and  to  teach 
seven  hours  a  day  and  five  days  a  week,  the  terms  to  consist 
of  twelve  weeks  each.  The  fuel  necessary  for  heating  was 
to  be  furnished  by  the  patrons  of  the  school.  These  schools, 
being  supported  by  tuition  fees  or  by  subscription,  owed 
their  existence  to  the  people  in  common,  as  it  were,  and, 
becoming  objects  of  common  interest,  paved  the  way  for  the 
public  schools  of  a  later  day. 

Daniel  Curtis,  a  former  captain  in  the  army  and  the 
grandfather  of  Mrs.  P.  H.  Sheridan,  taught  a  school  in  1824 
and  1825,  the  population  of  Green  Bay  iDcing  then  600,  with 
but  a  small  proportion  of  Americans.  It  would  seem  that 
text  books  were  furnished  by  the  trustees  of  the  school,  for  in 
a  letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Curtis  to  Robt.  Irwin,  Jr.,  L.  Grig- 
non, and  Lewis  Rouse,  he  makes  a  requisition  for  three 
dozen  spelling  books  and  six  Murray's  grammars. 

General  A.  G.  Ellis,  the  father  of  Hon.  E.  H.  Ellis,of  Green 
Bay,  received  the  appointment  of  teacher  in  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  mission  at  Green  Bay  in  1823,  under  Eleazar 
Williams  (afterward  notorious  as  the  reputed  dauphin  of 
France).  !Mr.  Williams  was  the  duly  commissioned  mission- 
ary to  the  Western  Indians.  The  school  was  conducted  suc- 
cessfully during  the  following  winter,  but  on  the  approach  of 
spring  it  was  closed  by  Mr.  Williams,  who  desired  to  occupy 
the  school-room  as  a  residence  upon  his  marriage  with  Miss 
Jourdain,  one  of  the  pupils. 

Mr.  Ellis  then  accepted  an  offer  made  to  him  by  General 
•McNiel,  commanding  at  Fort  Howard,  to  teach  the  garrison 
school.  After  three  months'  service  in  this  position,  he  re- 
visited Xew  York,  and  was  -again  commissioned  by  the 
board  as  mission  teacher  at  a  salary  of  $300,  Rev.  Norman 
Nash     being    superintendent    of  the   mission.     Mr.   Nash 


THE   GREEN   BAY   SCHOOLS.  469 

questioned  the  authority  of  the  board  to  appoint  a  teacher 
in  his  district  without  consulting  him ;  whereupon,  to 
obviate  further  trouble,  Mr.  Ellis  severed  his  connection 
with  the  mission.  At  the  solicitation  of  the  citizens,  he 
opened  a  school  in  the  "  Rouse "  school  house  with  over 
eighty  scholars,  about  one- half  paying  tuition,  the  others 
receiving  the  privileges  of  the  school  gratuitously.  Mr. 
Nash  at  the  same  time  engaged  in  teaching  a  school  at  the  old 
"  Agency  "  building,  where  he  continued  for  some  months. 

In  1825  a  new  school  house  was  built  for  the  garrison, 
and  Mr.  Ellis  became  its  teacher,  the  attendance  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  post  being  made  compulsory.  Thirty  children 
from  outside  families  were  also  received.  The  new  school 
building  was  much  superior  to  its  predecessors  in  size  and 
convenience,  and  in  its  furniture  and  equipments.  Good 
discipline  was  maintained,  and  the  pupils  were  well  in- 
structed. The  school  was  regularly  visited  in  the  afternoon 
by  the  officer  of  the  day,  and  on  Friday  afternoon  by  General 
Brady  and  his  staff,  who  inspected  the  school.  Here  Mr. 
Ellis  remained  until  the  school  was  discontinued  on  the  de- 
parture of  the  main  body  of  the  troops,  in  1827. 

In  1828  a  school  building  was  erected  by  the  Catholic 
church  and  placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Gabriel 
Richard,  of  Detroit,  vicar-general  of  the  Northwest.  This 
gentleman  was  afterward  delegated  to  congress  from  Michi- 
gan territory. 

In  1826,  1827  and  1828,  Friar  Fauvel  had  charge  of  this 
school,  having  been  sent  for  that  purpose  by  the  vicar-gen- 
eral. He  taught  both  French  and  English,  and  was  much 
beloved.  But  being  charged  with  dishonesty  and  irregular- 
ities in  office,  he  was  ordered  to  appear  before  a  tribunal  at 
Detroit,  where  he  was  found  guilty. 

In  1828  a  log  school-house  was  built  by  subscription  at 
Shantytown,  the  name  then  commonly  given  to  the  settle- 
ment some  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Green  Bay.  Miss 
Caroline  Russell  was  engaged  as  teacher  for  the  children  of 
the  five  American  families  living  in  that  vicinity.  Some 
four  years  later  Miss  Frances  Sears  presided  over  the  same 
school.  These  two  ladies  were  highly  esteemed,  and  are  said 
to  have  been  most  excellent  teachers.  They  gave  instruction 
in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  English  grammar  and  geog- 
raphy.    The  scholars  were  little  children  of  both  sexes. 

At  this  time  there  were  also  the  mission  schools  for  the 
Indians,   both    Catholic    and  Episcopalian.     The    Catholic 


470  THE   GREEN   BAY   SCHOOLS. 

rschool  was,  in  1830,  placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Mazzuchelli,  an  Italian  Jesuit  priest.  This  talented 
gentleman  remained  here  during  four  years,  the  school  being 
-assisted  from  the  Menominee  Indian  annuity  fund. 

In  1827  the  Episcopal  mission  was  entrusted  to  Rev. 
Richard  F.  Cadle.  During  the  five  years  of  his  labors  here 
extensive  buildings  were  constructed,  costing  $9,000.  The 
site  was  a  beautiful  one,  on  high  ground  overlooking  the 
lovely  Fox  river.  Here  was  established  a  boarding  and  day 
school,  designed  especially  for  Indian  children.  The  new 
school  was  opened  in  1830  with  ever}'  appearance  of  success. 
In  1831  there  were  129  scholars,  and  at  one  time  seven  teach- 
ers were  employed.  In  1832  Mr.  Cadle  resigned  his  posi- 
tion .  The  prosperity  of  the  school  was  short-lived .  Although 
s.  large  sum  of  money  had  been  expended  upon  it,  it  con- 
tinued to  decline,  until  1839,  when  it  was  closed  with  thirty- 
six  pupils,  after  an  existence  of  sixteen  years. 

Associated  with  Mr.  Cadle,  as  assistant  in  his  work  during 
several  years,  was  Mr.  John  V.  Suydam,  who  came  to  Green 
Bay  in  1831  as  a  teacher  in  the  mission  school.  After  the 
closing  of  the  school,  Mr.  Suydam  continued  to  reside  at 
Green  Bay.  He  maintained  through  a  long  life  his  interest 
in  educational  matters,  lending  his  assistance  in  a  liberal 
manner,  even  to  building  at  his  own  expense  two  school 
houses  for  the  use  of  private  schools. 

Shantytown,  like  its  mission  school,  began  to  lose  its 
prosperity,  and  it  became  nearly  absorbed  by  its  rivals,  Astor 
^nd  Navarino  (divisions  of  Green  Bay).  Mr.  Daniel  Whit- 
ney, the  original  proprietor  of  Navarino,  built  a  school  house 
there  in  1831,  on  the  south  side  of  Cherry  street,  between 
Washington  and  Adams  streets. 

Among  the  teachers  employed  in  this  building  and  in 
the  Suydam  school,  were  Mr.  William  White,  Miss  Sears, 
Miss  McGulpin,  Mr.  Marshall,  Mr.  Lufkin,  George  W. 
Featherstonhaugh,  Edward  Outhwaite,  Chauncey  Hall,  and 
John  W.  Arndt.  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh  and  Mr.  Outhwaite, 
in  addition  to  the  ordinary  English  branches,  taught  French 
.and  Latin,  and  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh,  drawing  and  painting. 

THE   PUBLIC    SCHOOLS. 

In  1840  a  school  tax  was  levied  and  the  first  public 
school  was  opened,  witR  John  F.  Lessey,  Henry  Sholes  and 
David  Ward,  commissioners.  Only  the  common  branches 
'were  taught,  and  the  furniture  and  apparatus  were  of  the 


THE  GREEN   BAY   SCHOOLS.  471 

rudest  character.  For  some  years  the  school  was  not  main- 
tained regularly,  through  lack  of  funds,  and  not  until  1850 
was  it  firmly  established.  In  that  year  Mr.  Gildersleeve 
became  its  teacher,  with  two  ladies  as  assistants.  Mr.  A. 
Kimball,  who  is  still  a  respected  citizen  of  Green  Bay,  taught 
three  terms,  in  the  years  1853  and  1854,  there  not  being 
money  enough  to  complete  the  year.  Mr.  S.  S.  Childs  taught 
in  1855. 

The  year  1856  was  made  memorable  in  the  annals  of 
the  school  by  the  building  of  the  "  Old  Brick,"  the  .first 
school  house  owned  by  the  city.  Mr.  Theron  K.  Bixby  was 
chosen  to  preside  over  it  and  he  made  the  first  attempt  to 
grade  the  schools,  although  but  little  was  accomplished 
towards  this  end  for  fifteen  years.  The  site  was  donated  by 
John  Jacob  Astor.  The  building  was  remodeled  in  1885, 
and  is  now  used  as  a  high  school.  It  was  one  of  the  first 
brick  buildings  in  Green  Bay,  a  very  plain  two-story  house, 
costing  about  $2,500,  and  capable  of  accommodating  two 
hundred  pupils,  but  before  the  year  was  completed  the 
enrollment  far  exceeded  that  number. 

Only  the  common  English  branches  were  taught. 
Special  attention  was  given  to  com  position- writing,  and  much 
interest  aroused  in  the  weekly  rhetorical  exercises.  These 
compared  very  favorably  with  any  similar  work  done  here 
for  years  afterward. 

The  art  of  memorizing  was  practiced  to  a  great  extreme 
— geography,  history  and  even  the  rules  of  arithmetic  and 
grammar  all  taught  through  certain  forms  committed  to 
memory.  Recitations  were  sometimes  conducted  without  a 
word  from  the  teacher,  the  pupils  rising  in  turn  and  reel- 
ing off  a  certain  fixed  portion  of  the  allotted  lesson.  The 
multiplication  table  was  set  to  music  and  sung  in  concert, 
with  a  chorus  to  the  tune  of  "Yankee  Doodle,"  and  the 
capitals  of  the  states  were  recited  in  a  similar  manner. 

Mr.  Bixby  continued  two  years  as  principal,  when  he 
returned  to  the  East  and  entered  the  Congregational  min- 
istry, dying  some  years  later  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mr.  G.  S.  Baker,  who  remained  only  one  year. 

In  this  year  the  city  purchased  a  house  of  Dr.  Ayres,  on 
the  corner  of  Madi-son  and  Chicago  streets,  and  after  mak- 
ing the  necessary  alterations,  used  it  for  a  primary  school 
until  1868,  when  it  was  sold  and  the  present  South  ward 
school  house  erected.  This  building  was  reconstructed  in 
1886  and  enlarged  to  more  than  double  its  former  capacity 


472  THE  GREEN   BAY   SCHOOLS. 

In  1860,  Mr.  H.  J.  Furber,  now  of  Chicago,  became 
principal  of  the  Green  Bay  schools.  He  raised  the  grade  of 
the  school,  adding  to  the  course  of  study  Latin  and  ad- 
vanced mathematics.  He  proved  a  most  efficient  teacher, 
continuing  at  the  head  of  the  school  for  three  years,  when 
he  abandoned  the  profession  of  teaching  for  the  law. 

In  1863  the  number  of  children  of  school  age  was  175 
less  than  in  the  previous  year.  A  report  of  the  clerk  shows 
the  cost  of  tuition  per  pupil  to  have  been  fifty  cents.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  how  this  estimate  was  made, 
as  the  teachers'  salaries  alone  were  $1,900,  and  the  number 
of  pupils  about  400.  Mr.  Charles  G.  Atkins  was  the  princi- 
pal this  year.  He  was  succeeded,  in  1864,  by  Mr.  Werden 
Reynolds,  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  where  he  had  been  president  of 
the  Worcester  female  college.  He  taught  in  Green  Bay 
four  years,  and  was  later  principal  of  the  Fort  Howard 
schools.  He  is  still  a  resident  of  Green  Bay,  having  retired 
from  the  profession  of  teaching,  which  he  followed  for 
over  fifty  years. 

School  facilities  were  very  poor  at  this  time,  and  quite 
inadequate  to  the  requirements  of  the  city.  To  supply  this 
need,  private  schools  were  established.  In  1867  there  were 
five  private  schools,  with  a  larger  enrollment  than  that  of 
the  public  schools.  Among  these  was  the  Green  Bay  acad- 
emy, incorporated  b}'  Miss  Sara  Mahan  and  Miss  Ruth  K, 
Gillette,  of  Cleveland,  as  a  boarding  and  day  school.  It  was 
opened  with  fifty-six  pupils,  but  increased  to  an  average 
daily  attendance  of  eighty.  The  course  of  study  was  that 
of  a  high  school,  and  was  supplemented  by  instruction  in 
music,  drawing,  and  French.  This  school  had  a  prosperous 
existence  of  four  years,  when  it  was  closed  on  account  of  the 
failing  health  of  Miss  Mahan,  who  returned  to  Cleveland, 
where  she  died  a  few  years  later.  Miss  Gillette  became  a 
teacher  in  the  Green  Bay  public  school  in  1875,  and  was 
principal  of  the  Pine  street  school  for  five  years. 

Among  other  private  schools  worthy  of  mention  were 
those  of  Miss  Lizzie  Crosby,  in  1854 ;  Mrs.  Jeremiah  Porter, 
in  1853  and  1854;  Mrs.  Willey,  in  1859  and  1860;  Mr.  A. 
C.  Lehman,  who  taught  a  German  and  English  school  for 
twelve  years ;  and  the  parish  school  organized  by  Rev.  L.  P. 
Tschiffely,  rector  of  Christ  church,  in  1865. 

In  1866  the  charter  of  Green  Bay  was  changed  and  the 
schools  passed  under  the  control  of  a  board  of  education, 
consisting  of  a  member  from  each  ward  elected  by  the  com- 


THE   GREEN   BAY   SCHOOLS.  473 

men  council,  in  connection  with  a  city  superintendent  chosen 
by  the  board  of  education.  A.  H.  Ellsworth  was  chosen  the 
first  superintendent. 

Charles  A.  Cutler  became  principal  of  the  schools  in 
1867,  and  was  succeeded  by  Miss  Mary  A.  Butz  in  1868.  Then 
came  Mr.  W.  C.  Bailey  in  1869,  and  Mr.  George  R.  Klee- 
berger  in  1871. 

The  Pine  street  school  house,  the  largest  in  the  city,  was 
built  in  1871 — a  three-story  brick  structure.  The  old  frame 
house,  standing  on  the  same  ground,  was  moved  across  East 
river,  and  used  as  a  primary  school  until  1888,  when  it  was 
removed  to  make  way  for  a  new  two-story  brick  building. 

Mr.  L.  W.  Briggs,  of  Racine,  became  principal  of  the 
schools  in  1871,  and  thoroughly  reorganized  the  school.  To 
him  is  due  in  a  large  measure  the  present  organization  of 
the  school.  He  established  nine  grades  and  a  high  school. 
He  brought  in  efficient  teachers,  and  most  carefully  super- 
vised their  work.  Firm  discipline  was  maintained  in  all  de- 
partments, and  a  wide-spread  interest  created  in  school 
matters.  . 

In  1875  the  first  graduates  of  the  high  school,  six  in 
number,  received  their  diplomas.  The  teachers  at  this 
time  were  better  paid  than  they  ever  were  before  or  have  been 
since.  Apparatus  and  reference  books  were  purchased  to  some 
extent,  shade  trees  planted  on  school  grounds,  and  other 
improvements  made.  All  this  could  not  be  done  without 
money,  and  the  school  tax  had  so  increased  that  taxpayers 
began  to  talk  of  retrenchment.  In  1874  the  council  author- 
ized a  school  tax  of  $17,000  for  the  ensuing  year.  In  1875 
the  school  census  showed  2,204  children  of  school  age. 

In  1876  Mr.  J.  D.  Williams  was  chosen  superintendent, 
to  succeed  A.  H.  Ellsworth.  The  reduction  of  teachers' 
salaries  was  ordered  ;  also  the  publishing  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  board  of  education.  The  school  hours  were  shortened, 
to  close  at  4  p.  m.,  and  the  question  of  reading  the  Bible  in 
the  schools  discussed. 

In  1877  the  state  teachers'  association  met  at  Green 
Bay.  In  this  year,  because  of  the  low  condition  of  the 
finances,  and  of  the  insufficient  appropriation  of  the  preced- 
ing year,  it  was  ordered  that  school  should  be  held  but  thir- 
ty-six weeks  hi  the  ensuing  year.  Upon  the  resignation  of 
Mr.  Briggs,  Alfred  Thomas  was  chosen  principal  of  the 
schools.  Mr.  Briggs  removed  to  Manitowoc  and,  after  teach- 
ing there  two  years,  became  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the 


474  THE   GREEN   BAY   SCHOOLS. 

Oshkosh  normal  school,  where  he  is  now  professor  of  civics 
and  penmanship. 

In  1878  a  small  building  was  purchased,  and  moved  to 
the  high  school  grounds,  and  used  to  relieve  the  over- 
crowded grammar  grades.  This  was  called  the  "Grammar  B." 
school,  but  was  popularly  known  as  the  "Hen  Coop."  After 
a  few  years  use  it  was  condemned  by  the  board  of  health, 
and  was  torn  down. 

In  1879,  Mr.  Williams  resigned  the  superintendence  of 
the  schools,  and  Mr.  J.  H.  Leonard  was  chosen  to  the  office. 

Early  in  the  year  1880  occurred  the  deaths  of  Edson 
Sherwood,  an  old  resident  who  had  served  several  years  on 
the  board  of  education,  and  of  Laura  V.  Altan,  a  highly  es- 
teemed teacher. 

With  the  opening  of  the  next  year,  under  the  able  man- 
agement of  Mr.  J.  C.  Crawford,  principal,  the  school  entered 
upon  a  new  existence.  The  master's  hand  was  felt  on  every 
line.  The  standing  of  the  school  was  materially  raised ;  the 
course  of  study  was  raised  and  extended ;  newer  methods  in- 
troduced ;  the  Green  Bay  school  came  to  be  acknowledged 
fully  abreast  of  the  times ;  and,  in  1882,  official  notice  was 
received  that  it  had  been  placed  by  the  state  university  on 
its  accredited  list  for  the  general  science  and  modern  classi- 
cal courses. 

In  1883  the  Mason  street  school  was  built;  and  in 
1884  the  Jefferson  street  school  was  purchased  and  rebuilt. 
In  1885  Mr.  Crawford  became  superintendent  as  well  as 
principal.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  a  night  school  was  or- 
ganized for  boys  and  young  men  who  were  engaged  at  work 
during  the  day,  and  with  two  teachers  it  was  continued  for 
four  months.  Rooms  in  the  high  school  were  used  and  125 
pupils  enrolled,  a  large  proportion  of  them  being  unable  on 
the  opening  of  the  school  to  read  English.  The  next  winter 
the  school  was  again  opened  with  83  pupils  enrolled,  and 
was  continued  three  months ;  but  as  the  attendance  had 
been  reduced  to  41  by  the  third  month,  the  school  was  dis- 
continued. 

Mr.  Crawford  tendered  his  resignation  as  principal  in 
June,  1888,  and  entered  upon  the  business  of  insurance, 
soon  after  removing  to  Milwaukee.  He  had  resigned  the 
office  of  superintendent  some  months  before,  and  Mrs.  Cor- 
nelia B.  Field  had  been  chosen  for  the  same. 

Mr.  Adelbert  Gardinier  received  the  appointment  of 
principal  on  Mr.  Crawford's  resignation,  but  resigned  after 


THE  GREEN  BAY  SCHOOLS.  475 

four  months'  service,  when  the  position  was  given  to  Arthur 
J.  Clough.  This  gentleman,  a  very  fine  classical  scholar, 
and  a  man  of  truly  refined  Christian  character,  remained  two 
years,  when  he  returned  to  New  York,  where  he  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  associate  principal  and  professor  of  mathe- 
matics in  the  North  Granville  seminary. 

In  1889  Mrs.  I.  M.  Cooke  was  elected  superintendent, 
and  in  1890  Mr.  John  Hancock  was  made  superintendent 
and  principal,  the  two  offices  being  united,  as  they  had  been 
under  Mr.  Crawford.  Mr.  Hancock  remained  two  years, 
when,  in  the  present  year,  Mr.  F.  T.  Oldt  was  elected  super- 
intendent. This  gentleman  was  for  seventeen  years  city 
superintendent  of  Lanark,  111. 

Columbus  day  was  fittingly  celebrated  by  the  schools 
and  reflected  great  credit  on  Superintendent  Oldt's  manage- 
ment. In  the  morning  all  the  schools  of  the  city  followed 
the  official  programme  as  prepared  by  the  national  super- 
intendents' association,  the  Catholic  and  Lutheran  schools 
joining  in  the  services  with  their  neighbors  of  the  public 
schools.  In  the  afternoon  all  joined  in  a  procession,  with 
probably  about  5,000  people  in  line.  Perhaps  the  happiest 
feature  of  the  celebration  was  the  cordial  spirit  with  which 
the  parochial  and  public  schools  united  in  the  exercises  of 
the  day. 

The  public  schools  of  Green  Bay  are  classed  among  the 
most  efficient  in  the  state.  They  include  nine  grades  and 
a  high  school,  showing  in  their  careful  gradation  the  work 
of  years.  The  high  school  offers  to  students  either  an 
English  or  a  Latin  course  of  four  years,  and  prepares  grad- 
uates for  entry  into  the  university  of  Wisconsin.  The  course 
of  study  includes  Roman  and  English  history,  civil  govern- 
ment, rhetoric,  one  year  in  English  literature,  one  term  in 
elocution ;  mathematics,  through  solid  geometry ;  a  four 
years'  Latin  course  in  Caesar,  Virgil  and  Cicero ;  physiology, 
philosophy,  chemistry,  psychology,  and  a  two  years'  course 
in  German. 

A  large  part  of  the  very  fine  philosophical  apparatus 
belonging  to  the  high  school  was  the  gift  of  Professor  J.  C. 
Crawford,  who  so  ably  conducted  the  school  for  seven  years. 

The  board  of  education  that  administers  school  matters 
consists  of  seven  members  elected  by  the  common  council 
for  two  years,  and  a  superintendent  of  city  schools  elected  by 
the  board  of  education  for  one  year.  To  the  late  Mr,  L.  B. 
Sale,  who  acted  as  president  of  the  board  for  six  years,  is 


476  THE   GREEN  BAY   SCHOOLS. 

due,  in  a  large  measure,  the  high  standing  of  the  Green  Bay 
schools. 

There  are,  at  present,  twenty-eight  teachers  employed  in 
the  schools ;  1,400  pupils  are  enrolled,  of  which  number 
ninety  are  in  the  high  school.  The  school  buildings  are  six 
in  number,  and  represent  a  value  of  $75,000  ;  and  they  are 
fairly  supplied  with  needful  apparatus ;  all  are  well  ventilated 
and  heated.  The  running  expenses  of  the  school  last  year 
aggregated  $19,230. 

It  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  in  the  near  future  a 
high  school  building  may  be  erected,  better  adapted  to  the 
present  needs  of  the  school.  The  house  now  in  use  was 
erected  in  1856,  as  already  noted  in  these  pages.  It  has  done 
good  service  all  these  years,  but,  in  the  nature  of  things,  is 
no  longer  adequate  to  the  times.  The  question  of  erecting  a 
new  building  is  now  being  agitated.  The  earnest  co-opera- 
tion of  the  citizens  with  the  board  of  education,  in  this  mat- 
ter, is  to  be  hoped  for,  that  Green  Bay  may  possess  a  high 
school  building  more  creditable  to  herself,  and  a  more  fitting 
exponent  of  the  excellent  schools  furnished  to  her  citizens. 

CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  GREEN  BAY. CATHEDRAL  SCHOOL. 

This  school  was  first  taught  by  Miss  Lizzie  Stemper  in 
the  vestry  of  St.  Mary's  (German)  church,  under  the  super- 
vision of  Rev.  Father  Schmedding,  who  was  appointed  pas- 
tor in  1856.  Miss  Stemper  taught  until  1861,  when  a  build- 
ing for  school  purposes  was  erected  on  the  ground  where 
the  Cathedral  now  stands.  On  invitation  of  Rev.  Joseph 
Albers,  who  took  charge  of  St.  Mary's,  in  1861,  the  Domini- 
can Sisters  came  to  Green  Bay,  and  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  school,  March  29,  1861,  occupying  the  new 
building,  which  was  to  serve  the  double  purpose  of  school 
house  and  Sisters'  dwelling.  Mother  Benedicta,  Sister 
Thomasina,  and  two  postulants  constituted  the  little  "  com- 
munity," and  school  was  commenced  with  an  enrollment 
of  about  sixty  pupils  from  Green  Bay,  Fort  Howard,  and 
even  from  ^larinette.  The  Dominicans  remained  in  charge 
of  the  school  until  November  1862,  when  they  returned  to 
Racine. 

Rev.  F.  T.  Pfaller,  now  of  New  Franken,  was  appointed 
rector  of  St.  Mary's  in  1862,  and  on  his  invitation  the  Sisters 
of  Notre  Dame  came  to  this  city  to  continue  the  school  work 
begun  by  the  Dominicans ;  they  were  accompanied  hither 
by  Rev.  F.  X.  Krautbauer,  afterward  Bishop  of  Green  Bay. 


THE   GREEN   BAY  SCHOOLS.  477 

In  1865  the  school  was  attended  by  255  children,  distributed 
in  three  school-rooms.  To  furnish  more  accommodation,  a 
separate  Sisters'  house  was  begun  in  1870,  and  finished  the 
following  summer.  The  space  thus  gained  formed  a  new 
class-room,  and  the  school  now  numbered  some  300  children. 
Of  these  some  75  belonged  to  French  and  Holland  congre- 
gations, and  formed  a  separate  department,  where  all 
branches  were  taught  in  English  exclusively. 

When  Bishop  Melchers  intended  to  build  a  new  Cathe- 
dral, another  place  had  to  be  bought  for  a  school  and  Sisters' 
house.  Mother  M.  Caroline,  of  Milwaukee,  the  superior  of 
the  Sisters,  bought  the  lots  opposite  the  present  Cathedral, 
September  28,  1872.  The  present  Sisters'  house  was  built, 
while  the  former  school  building  was  moved  across  the 
street,  where  it  stood  in  front  of  the  present  brick  school. 
In  1880  sixty  children,  belonging  to  other  parishes,  left  St. 
Mary's  school,  as  they  had  then  obtained  their  own  schools. 
But  the  number  of  children  kept  on  growing,  so  that  in 
1884  the  new  school  had  to  be  erected.  The  old  school  was 
sold  to  the  city  of  Green  Bay,  and  moved  to  Jefferson  street, 
where  it  still  serves  as  a  public  school. 

The  present  St.  Mary's  school  is  a  solid  brick  building 
52  by  52  feet,  and  consists  of  two  stories ;  it  has  six  class- 
rooms, but  no  school  hall.  There  are  at  present  400  chil- 
dren taught  there  by  six  Sisters. 

ST.  willebrod's  school. 

In  1880  Rev.  N.  Kersten,  then  rector  of  the  Holland 
church,  rented  a  small  house  near  by,  in  which  two  Sisters 
instructed  ninety  children.  In  the  following  year  the  pres- 
ent school  building  was  erected.  It  contains  three  class- 
rooms, and  numbers  at  present  225  children. 

ST.  John's  school. 

This  school  was  organized  in  1880  by  Rev.  Greisch,  S.J. 
His  successor.  Rev.  Joseph  Fox,  had  two  small  rooms  fixed 
up  in  the  old  Cathedral,  where  two  Sisters  taught  the  chil- 
dren until  1885.  In  the  following  year  the  school  was 
moved  into  the  old  priest's  house  of  St.  John's  congregation. 
In  1890  the  new  stately  brick  building  was  erected  with  four 
class-rooms,  and  a  large  school  hall,  with  stage.  The  build- 
ing is  55x70  feet,  and  presents  a  fine  appearance.  There  are 
at  present  175  children  in  the  school,  with  four  teachers, 
Sisters  of  Notre  Dame. 


478  THE  GREEN  BAY  SCHOOLS. 

LUTHERAN  SCHOOLS. — CHERRY  STREET  GERMAN-ENGLISH  SCHOOL. 

This  school,  established  in  1863,  is  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  pastor  of  the  Cherry  street  church,  Rev.  J. 
Siegrist;  a  school  house,  one-story  high,  was  built  in  1866.  It 
was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1889,  and  a  new  building  was 
erected  in  the  same  year,  of  veneered  brick,  29x56  feet,  and 
two-stories  high. 

From  1883  to  1891  the  school  was  divided  into  two 
classes,  and  two  teachers  were  employed.  At  present  there 
is  but  one  teacher,  Mr.  August  Becker.  There  are  now  fiftj' -nine 
pupils  in  the  school.  The  branches  taught  in  English  are : 
Spelling,  reading,  writing,  grammar,  geographj',  historj^ 
arithmetic  and  drawing.  Those  taught  in  German  are 
spelling,  reading,  writing,  grammar,  and  religion.  The  school 
is  supported  by  the  congregation. 

ST.  Paul's  evangelical  school. 

This  school  was  established  in  1883.  Rev.  Mr.  Doen- 
feld,  pastor  of  the  church,  was  its  first  teacher.  A  small 
school  house  was  built  on  Stuart  street  in  1 884. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Huth  became  pastor  and  teacher  in  1886, 
and  still  performs  those  duties ;  but  with  the  year  1893,  a 
separate  teacher  will  have  charge  of  the  school,  and  the 
pastor  be  relieved  of  this  labor. 

The  school  numbers  fifty-one  pupils,  and  is  supported 
by  the  congregation.  The  branches  taught  in  English  are 
reading,  writing,  spelling,  grammar,  arithmetic,  and  geog- 
raph3\  Those  taught  in  German  are  reading,  writing, 
spelling,  grammar,  history,  and  religion. 

Mrs.  Cornelia  B.  Field. 


The  Public  Schools  of  Madison. 


THE    WILDERNESS. 


In  the  summer  of  1836,  there  were,  so  far  as  now  known, 
but  five  white  men  residing  within  the  territory  comprised 
in  the  present  county  of  Dane  :  Ebenezer  Brigham,  the  origi- 
nal settler,  at  the  East  Blue  Mound ;  Eben  Feck,  who  lived 
with  Brigham,  boarding  the  latter  and  his  farm  and  lead- 
mining  hands,  and  entertaining  chance  travelers  along  the 
military  highway  between  Forts  Crawford  (Prairie  du  Chien) 
and  Winnebago  (Portage) ;  Berry  Haney,  a  ranchman  living 
on  the  military  road  at  what  is  now  Cross  Plains ;  a  French- 
man named  Oliver  Armel,  who  maintained  a  temporary 
trading  shanty,  half  brush  and  half  canvas,  near  what  we 
call  Johnson  street,  on  the  isthmus  between  Third  and 
Fourth  lakes ;  and  Abel  Rasdall,  an  Indian  trader,  whose 
lonely  cabin  was  on  the  eastern  shore  of  First  lake,  about 
half  a  mile  north  of  its  outlet.  A  French  half-breed  trader, 
Michel  St.  Cyr,  lived  on  the  bank  of  Fourth  lake,  at  what 
are  to-day  known  as  Livesey's  springs,  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  north  of  Pheasant  branch. 

Green  Bay,  a  straggling  settlement,  by  this  time  hoar}'' 
with  age,  had  come  down  from  the  seventeenth  century, 
maintaining  a  sickly  existence  on  the  fur  trade  and  the  lake 
traffic ;  Forts  Howard  (opposite  Green  Bay),  Winnebago,  and 
Crawford  had  attached  to  them  meagre  hamlets ;  the  min- 
eral region  in  the  southwest,  although  sparsely  settled,  con- 
tained the  bulk  of  the  population,  with  Mineral  Point  as  its 
center  —  a  village  having  at  the  time  apparently  a  brighter 
future  before  it  than  the  new  settlement  at  the  mouth  of 
Milwaukee  river ;  there  were  a  few  notches  cut  out  at  wide 
intervals  in  the  gloomy  forest  bordering  the  western  shore 
of  Lake  Michigan  ;  but  outside  of  these  settlements  above 
enumerated,  Wisconsin  was  practically  uninhabited  by 
whites.  Here  and  there  was  to  be  found  an  Indian  trader, 
the  Yankee  successor  of  the  couriers  de  hois  of  the  old 
French  regime,  or  some  exceptionally  adventurous  farmer ; 
but  their  far-separated  cabins  by  contrast  only  emphasized 
the  density  of  the  wilderness,  through  which  roamed  un- 


479 


480  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON. 

trammeled  the  shiftless,  gypsy-like  aborigines — the  com- 
paratively harmless  Chippewas,  Menomonees,  and  Winne- 
bagos. 

SELECTION    OF    THE    CAPITAL. 

July  fourth,  the  territorial  government  was  organized' 
with  Henry  Dodge  as  governor,  and  the  first  territorial  legis- 
lature convened  October  twenty-fifth,  in  the  hamlet  of  Bel- 
mont, at  Platte  Mounds,  in  what  is  now  La  Fayette  county- 
At  this  session  Dane  county  was  set  off  among  eleven  others ; 
acts  were  passed  creating  the  nucleus  of  a  common  school 
fund,  protecting  all  lands  given  to  the  territory  by  the  gen- 
eral government  for  the  aid  of  the  schools,  and  adopting  the 
Michigan  school  code ;  and  the  territorial  capital  was  estab- 
lished at  Madison — then  a  town  on  paper. 

It  was  stipulated  in  the  act,  that  the  legislature  should 
meet  in  Burlington  (now  in  Iowa)  until  March  fourth,  1839, 
unless  the  public  building  at  Madison,  which  was  provided 
for,  should  be  sooner  completed.  James  D.  Doty,  John  F. 
O'Neil,  and  Augustus  A.  Bird  were  chosen  building  commis- 
sioners. 

THE    FIRST    FAMILIES. 

On  the  way  home  from  the  Belmont  session,  which  had 
adjourned  on  the  ninth  of  December,  several  of  the  north- 
ern members  of  the  legislature  stopped  en  route  at  the  Blue 
Mound  and  informed  Landlord  Peck  of  the  selection  of 
Madison  as  the  capital.  Thereupon  Peck  conceived  the  idea 
of  opening  a  house  of  entertainment  for  the  accommodation 
of  visitors  to  the  proposed  seat  of  government,  and  of  the 
workmen  whom  he  heard  were  soon  to  be  sent  out  to  erect  the 
public  building.  With  that  end  in  view,  he  purchased  some 
lots  on  which  to  build  his  prospective  tavern.  In  March  he 
sent  on  two  Frenchmen  to  raise  the  house, — the  first  inhabi- 
ted building  in  Madison, — and  on  the  loth  of  April,  1837, 
Peck,  with  his  wife  Roseline  and  their  four-year  old  bo3^ 
Victor  E.,  arrived  on  the  scene — the  pioneer  white  family  at 
the  capital.*  This  primitive  tavern,  which  was  practically 
three  log  cabins  united,  was  styled  the  Madison  House  and 
stood  upon  lot  6,  block  107  (on  the  southwest  side  of  Butler 


*Mrs.  Peck  now  lives  at  Baraboo.  Her  son,  Victor  E.,  is  manager 
of  the  St.  Paul  Railwajr  Hotel  at  West  Madison.  Eben  Peck  started 
overland  to  California  in  1845,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  killed  by 
Indians  on  the  plains. 


THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON.  481 

street),  until,  old  and  crumbling,  it  was  torn  down  in  1857  to 
make  room  for  a  more  modern  structure. 

On  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  June,  Building  Commis- 
sioner Bird  arrived  from  Milwaukee  with  thirty-six  work- 
men, after  a  dreary  and  toilsome  overland  journey  of  ten 
days,  through  rain  and  mud,  with  no  roads,  and  having  had 
to  ford  or  swim  the  intervening  rivers.  In  this  party  was 
Josiah  Pierce,  with  his  wife  and  five  children — the  second 
family  in  the  place.  The  Pierces  had  been  brought  by 
Bird  to  cook  for  the  mechanics,  and  for  that  purpose  they 
erected  a  log  boarding  house  on  the  corner  of  Butler  and 
Wilson  streets,  a  few  lots  southeast  of  the  Pecks.  In  this  es- 
tablishment the  bulk  of  the  men  were  accommodated,  the 
Peck  tavern  being  patronized  by  the  overflow.  Pierce  had 
two  young  lady  daughters,  Rhoda  and  Marcia  by  name. 
Rhoda  was  the  second  school  mistress  of  the  settlement. 

On  the  6th  of  September  came  John  Stoner  and  wife, 
with  their  seven  children.  Prosper  B.  Bird,  brother  of  A.  A. 
and  one  of  his  original  party,  soon  after  introduced  his  wife 
and  three  children  to  the  colonists.  A.  A.  Bird  brought  out 
his  wife  and  six  children  to  the  scene  of  action,  late  in  De- 
cember or  early  in  January.  On  the  14th  of  September  had 
occurred  at  the  Madison  house  the  first  white  birth  on  the 
isthmus — Wisconsiana  Victoria  Peck,  now  Mrs.  N.  W. 
Wheeler,  of  Baraboo.  A  little  later  James  Madison  Stoner 
made  his  appearance,  the  first  white  boy  born  in  the  settle- 
ment. The  families  of  Peck,  Stoner,  Prosper  B.  Bird,  and 
A.  A.  Bird,  Isaac  H.  Palmer  and  wife,  the  few  workmen  at  the 
capital  who  had  not  returned  to  Milwaukee,  two  or  three 
merchants  and  officials,  the  little  cluster  of  fainilies  at  the 
Blue  Mounds,  the  Haney  household  at  Cross  Plains,  and 
perhaps  three  or  four  widely-separated  Indian  traders,  con- 
stituted the  entire  population  of  Dane  countv  during  the 
winter  of  1837-38. 

The  little  colony  in  Madison  did  not  lack  for  amuse- 
ment during  this  period,  despite  the  physical  barriers  be- 
tween it  and  the  civilized  world  to  the  far  East.  Mrs.  Peck 
has  given  us,  in  Durrie's  History  of  Madison,  a  lively  account 
of  the  dances,  euchre  parties,  turtle-soup  suppers,  etc.,  with 
which  the  settlers  whiled  away  the  first  winter  in  the  Four- 
lake  wilderness.  That  lady  and  her  brother-in-law,  Luther 
Peck,  both  appear  to  have  been  excellent  violinists,  and  the 
puncheon  floors  of  the  Madison  house  were  worn  smooth 
with  semi-weekly  hops,  in  which  the  Virginia  reel  and  Monie 


482  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS  OF  MADISON. 

Musk  constituted  the  chief  numbers  of  the  impromptu  pro- 
grammes. Any  who  had  not  been  initiated  in  their  mys- 
teries, previous  to  "  setthng,"  were  obhged  to  submit  to  in- 
struction, as  one  of  the  prime  duties  of  frontier  citizenship. 
Travelers  from  Milwaukee,  Fort  Winnebago,  Galena,  and 
Mineral  Point  were  frequently  present,  and  are  said  to  have 
greatly  enjoyed  the  giddy  society  at  this  sylvan  capital. 

THE   FIRST   SCHOOL-MISTRESS. 

The  frontier  community  was  not  complete,  however, 
without  a  school-mistress.  Deacon  Jeremiah  Brayton,  liv- 
ing on  the  Crawfish  river,  two  miles  south  of  Aztalan,  had 
two  daughters,  Lavina  and  Louisa  M.  The  former  was 
passing  the  winter  with  Mrs.  A.  A.  Bird,  as  a  companion, 
and  later  married  Charles  H.  Bird,  a  brother  of  A.  A.  In 
February,  1838,  Charles  H.  Bird  drove  down  to  Deacon 
Brayton's  farm,  in  a  one-horse  sleigh,  and  engaged  Miss 
Louisa  to  come  to  Madison  and  teach  the  first  school.  The 
weather  was  extremely  cold,  and  the  sleighing  poor,  so  that 
they  had  a  very  uncomfortable  trip,  Mr.  Bird  having  to  walk 
much  of  the  way.  The  salary,  two  dollars  per  week,  to  be 
raised  by  popular  subscription,  was  agreed  upon  between 
them  before  leaving  the  farm.  Miss  Brayton  boarded  in  the 
family  of  A.  A.  Bird,  who  lived  in  a  story-and-a-half  frame 
house  on  the  south  corner  of  Wilson  and  Pinckney  streets,  the 
spot  now  occupied  by  the  residence  of  Mrs.  John  M.  Bowman. 
For  this  accommodation  she  paid  one  dollar  per  week — fifty 
per  cent  of  her  allowance. 

Nearly  hid  in  the  thicket,  two  blocks  away,  was  the 
little  school-room,  the  front  end  of  Isaac  H.  Palmer's  log 
dwelling  house,  on  lot  5,  block  105,  south  corner  of  King  and 
Clymer  streets,  the  site  of  Alex.  Findlay's  grocery  store. 

In  these  limited  quarters,  on  the  1st  of  March,  1838, 
Miss  Brayton  assembled  her  little  flock  of  some  dozen  or 
fifteen  scholars.  The  benches  were  of  oak  slabs  with  the 
bark  on,  roughly- whittled  pegs  driven  into  auger  holes  serv- 
ing as  legs.  With  a  chair  for  the  teacher,  this  outfit  com- 
pleted the  furnishings  of  Madison's  first  temple  of  learning ; 
and  the  curriculum  was  as  crude  as  the  surroundings.  The 
merest  rudiments  of  education  were  all  that  were  aimed  at 
in  the  backwoods  schools  of  those  days,  with  their  total  lack 
of  appliances  and  proper  text-books,  without  any  well- 
defined  system  of  district  government,  with  no  school  fund, 
and  the  county  treasury  barren.     As  a  rule  the  teachers  were 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OP  MADISON.  483 

the  young  men  and  women  in  the  pioneer  families,  who 
were  imbued  with  an  ambitious  spirit  and  chanced  to  un- 
derstand "the  three  R's"  a  trifle  better  than  their  fellows. 
The  professionally  educated  schoolmaster  was  not .  then 
abroad — he  did  not  reach  Madison  until  a  dozen  or  more 
years  later.  There  are  probably  few  schools  to-day  in  the 
most  inaccessible  portions  of  our  country  that  are  so  meag- 
erly  equipped  as  were  the  majority  of  those  scattered  at  wide 
intervals  throughout  the  Northwest,  in  the  period  of  which 
we  treat. 

Madison  was,  however,  peculiarly  fortunate  in  its  pion- 
eer school  teacher.  Miss  Bray  ton  was  a  young  woman  of 
fine  appearance,  of  a  firm,  but  sweet  disposition,  and  during 
her  three  months'  experience  in  the  little  hamlet,  came  to  be 
highly  regarded  by  both  adult  and  youth.  At  the  close  of 
her  three  months'  engagement,  Miss  Brayton  was  offered  a 
more  advantageous  salary  at  Jefferson  than  the  Madison 
patrons  could  afford  to  pay,  and  removed  thither.  After  a 
residence  of  about  fifty  years  in  Jefferson,  where  she  was 
married  to  Mr.  George  Sawin,  M'hom  she  survives,  Madison's 
first  schoolmistress  is  again  living  at  the  capital,  being  now 
in  her  seventy-seventh  year. 

THE  FIRST  SCHOOL  HOUSE. 

In  the  spring  of  1839,  Dane  county  was  organized  for 
judicial  purposes.  The  territorial  school  code  had  been 
somewhat  modified  by  the  legislature  of  that  year.  "The 
rate-bill  system  of  taxation,  previously  in  existence,  was 
repealed,  and  a  tax  on  the  whole  county  for  building 
school  houses  and  supporting  schools  was  provided  for." 
With  the  county  organization  came  an  immediate 
influx  of  population ;  this  fact,  together  with  the 
improvement  in  the  code,  gave  rise  to  a  revival  of  in- 
terest in  educational  matters,  which  had  lain  dormant  in 
Madison  since  the  close  of  Miss  Brayton's  school.  The  num- 
ber of  children  had  increased  materially,  as  many  of  the  new 
settlers  were  accompanied  by  their  families.  There  were 
now  in  Madison  fully  a  score  of  proper  age  for  elemental  in- 
struction, and  their  parents,  though  busily  engaged  in  ex- 
tracting a  living  from  each  other  and  the  virgin  soil,  were 
not  unmindful  of  the  great  duty  they  owed  to  the  offspring 
whom  they  had  introduced  to  the  backwoods  of  Wisconsin. 
The  taxable  value  of  property  was  at  a  low  stage,  and  the 


484  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF  MADISON. 

fund  accruing  from  the  sale  of  school  lands  could  not  be  made 
available  until  the  organization  of  a  state  government,  so 
that  for  many  years  the  public  school  moneys  had  necessarily 
to  be  supplemented  by  rate-bills,  even  to  pay  the  beggarly 
salaries  then  in  vogue  among  district  pedagogues.  But  the 
spirit  of  local  pride  always  induced  the  pioneer  residents  of 
the  infant  capital  to  be  generous  even  beyond  their  means ; 
and  with  large  hopes  of  the  future,  and  a  desire  not  to  be 
outdone  elsewhere,  a  movement  to  build  a  school  house  was 
successfully  carried  through  in  April.  Governor  Doty  gave 
permission  to  the  settlers  to  use  for  the  purpose  lot  4,  block 
98,  on  the  north  corner  of  Pinckney  and  Dayton  streets.  And 
there,  out  in  the ''brush,"  was  erected,  in  time  for  the  summer 
term,  the  first  building  constructed  in  Madison  for  school 
purposes.  In  these  days  it  would  be  denominated  a  shanty, 
but  in  those  was  thought  to  be  a  creditable  affair.  It  was  a 
one-story  frame  structure,  sided  with  oak  "shakes,"  standing 
some  18x20  feet  on  the  ground,  and  cost  about  $70,  the 
amount  being  raised  by  assessment  of  the  leading  citizens. 
During  the  first  term  it  was  unplastered  and  badly  glazed. 
A  few^  slab  benches  were  put  in,  of  the  kind  used  in  the 
Brayton  school.  In  that  period,  sawed  lumber  and  "store" 
furniture  were  scarce  articles,  and  in  many  a  Madison  house 
the  seats  were  but  rough,  three-legged  stools. 

The  school  house  was  often  used  for  other  public  pur- 
poses. Wood's  brass  band  practiced  there  for  a  few  seasons, 
two  or  three  times  a  week.  The  first  Sunday  school  was 
established  within  its  walls.  One  of  the  early  Congregational 
pastors,  in  alluding  to  this  latter  fact,  thus  describes  the  rude 
structure : 

"A  few  rods  northwest  of  the  park,  in  a  thicket  of  brush, 
through  which  a  few  foot-paths  only  led,  was  the  primitive 
school  house,  a  building  rudely  constructed  and  poorly  seated  ; 
size,  almost  18x22  feet  upon  the  ground,  and  having  only  one 
low  story.  *  *  *  Here  the  first  Sunday  school  in  Madison 
was  started  by  a  few  ladies,  prominent  among  whom  was  Mrs. 
James  Morrison." 

When  the  Little  Brick  was  built,  in  1845,  the  old  build- 
ing and  the  lot,  which  had  by  that  time  come  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  village,  were  sold  to  Richard  T.  Davis,  who 
lived  there  for  a  time  ;  but  the  house  was  torn  down  in  1846. 
A  dwelling  occupied  by  Mrs.  Louisa  Menges  now  covers  the 
site. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF   MADISON.  485 

PIONEER  TEACHERS. 

Miss  Rhoda  Pierce,  daughter  of  Josiah  Pierce,  who  will 
be  remembered  as  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  was  the  first 
teacher  in  this  school  house,  serving  only  during  the  sum- 
mer term  of  1839. 

Edgar  S.  Searle  taught  during  the  succeeding  winter — 
a  bright,  intelligent  young  man,  with  a  good  academic  edu- 
cation, who  had  come  to  the  village  that  fall  from  New  York 
state.  Like  several  of  his  successors,  Mr.  Searle  "boarded 
around"  among  the  patrons  of  the  school.  His  salary  was 
but  four  or  five  dollars  per  week  in  addition  to  his  board, 
which,  in  those  primitive  times,  was  generally  worth  not  to 
exceed  two  dollars.  The  privilege  of  boarding  a  teacher  was 
one  much  sought  after,  for  the  "master"  was  necessarily  one 
of  the  best  informed  persons  in  the  community,  and  parents 
not  only  enjoyed  his  society  for  themselves,  but  deemed  it  an 
advantage  to  have  their  children  placed  under  his  immedi- 
ate domestic  influence.  Mr.  Searle's  wages  were  paid,  so  far 
as  they  came  out  of  the  public  funds,  in  county  orders  which 
he  could  only  convert  at  face  into  county  dues,  and  it  is  re- 
membered of  him  that  he  speculated — necessarily  in  a  mild 
way — in  tax  certificates. 

The  entire  population  of  the  village  at  the  close  of  1839 
was  but  146,  and  the  school  tax  raised  in  the  county  that 
year  amounted  only  to  $393.13. 

In  the  spring  of  1840,  James  Morrison  moved  his  family 
to  Madison  from  Porter's  Grove.  With  them  came  Miss 
Clarissa  R.  Pierce,  who,  on  the  first  Monday  in  May,  opened 
a  "select  school  for  young  misses,"  in  a  little  frame  building 
within  the  limits  of  the  Capitol  park.  This  structure  had 
originally  been  put  up  as  a  tool-house  and  office  for  Con- 
tractor Morrison  while  the  capitol  was  being  erected.  It 
vas  an  uncouth,  one-story  box,  about  12x16  feet  on  the 
ground,  with  low  ceiling,  and  situated  some  200  feet  in  front 
of  where  the  state  bank  is  now  located.  For  several  seasons 
it  did  duty  as  a  school-house,  private  and  public,  and  for  a 
time  was  the  place  where  the  village  debating  club  was  wont 
to  assemble  in  the  evenings  and  wisely  discuss  questions  which 
had  puzzled  sages  since  the  time  of  Solomon — the  forum 

"Where  village  statesmen  talked  with  looks  profound." 

It  was  in  this  modest  building  that  Miss  Pierce  opened 
the  first  "select"  school  in  Madison.  Her  terms  were  ^3  per 
quarter,  for  feach  pupil.     There  were  some  fifteen  of  them — 


486  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON. 

all  "young  misses,"  except  one  lonesome  little  boy.  During 
the  same  summer,  the  seven  or  eight  larger  boys  of  the 
settlement  were  instructed  in  the  public  school  by  E.  M. 
Williamson.  During  the  succeeding  winter  (1840-41), 
Timothy  Wilcox,  M.  D.,  who  found  an  abundance  of  pro- 
fessional leisure  in  so  healthy  a  community  as  Madison,  con- 
ducted the  pablic  school,  boys  and  girls  being  then  reunited, 
Miss  Pierce  having  temporarily  abandoned  her  enterprise. 

In  the  summer  of  1841,  two  teachers  were  engaged, — 
Miss  Clarissa  R.  Pierce  having  charge  of  the  oldest  scholars 
in  the  public  school  house,  while  Miss  Lucia  A.  Smith  taught 
the  little  ones  in  the  old  tool-shed  in  the  Capitol  park. 

During  that  fall  and  the  ensuing  winter,  Mrs.  James 
Morrison,  who  was  always  much  interested  in  educational 
matters,  conducted  a  free  night  school  in  the  American  Hotel 
— opposite  the  present  State  Journal  building — of  which  her 
husband  was  the  proprietor.  She  had  about  ten  scholars, 
between  the  ages  of  nine  and  fourteen,  who  were  instructed 
in  the  English  rudiments.  The  public  school  was  at  the 
same  time  conducted  by  Darwin  Clark,  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers. 

THE   DISTRICT   SCHOOL. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  December,  1841,  the  county  school 
commissioners,  in  accordance  with  a  formal  petition  signed 
four  days  previous  by  five  citizens,  set  apart  the  town  of 
Madison  as  a  separate  school  district,  denominating  it  "  Dis- 
trict No.  1,  town  of  Madison."  This  was  the  first  official  ac- 
tion taken  in  Dane  county,  relative  to  the  organization  of 
schools,  under  the  territorial  laws.  Heretofore  public  edu- 
cation here  had  been  quite  informally  carried  on,  in  part 
by  county  tax,  and  in  part  by  private  subscription,  with  no 
well-defined  regulations.  In  1840  the  legislature  had  passed 
an  act  designed  to  secure  the  more  adequate  support  and 
government  of  the  schools.  Thereafter  there  was  more  sys- 
tem, but  it  was  not  until  twenty  years  later  that  Madison 
teachers  began  to  receive  anything  approaching  adequate 
compensation,  in  regular  payments.  This  was  owing  chiefly 
to  the  poverty  of  the  settlers,  who  were  unable  to  pay  heavy 
taxes. 

In  May,  1842,  several  public-spirited  citizens  organized 
the  Madison  select  female  school,  that  the  older  girls  of  the 
community  might  obtain  a  higher  education  than  they 
could  get  at  the  common  school,  where  the -grade  was  still 


THE    PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON.  487 

very  low.  Mrs.  Maria  M.  Gay  of  Marietta,  Ohio,  was  im- 
ported as  preceptress.  Mrs.  Gay  was  well  qualified  to  success- 
fully conduct  such  a  school,  under  more  favorable  circum- 
stances. But  Madison  could  not  then  support  an  institution 
of  this  character.  Her  terms  were  too  high  for  those  early 
days  in  the  backwoods,  and,  not  meeting  with  sufficient  en- 
couragement, she  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  enterprise  after 
a  year's  trial. 

The  settlement  made  very  slow  progress  in  point  of 
population.  The  census,  in  1842,  revealed  the  presence  of 
172  people,  a  gain  of  but  26  in  two  years :  in  1844  there 
were  only  216  ^ladisonians.  Nevertheless,  the  little  band  of 
pioneers  were  full  of  hope,  and  courageously  pushed  affairs, 
as  though  the  capital  was  growing  apace.  June  12th,  1842, 
a  public  meeting  was  held,  to  vote  a  tax  for  the  building  of 
a  new  school  house,  as  the  old  one  was  getting  to  be  over- 
crowded, but  owing  to  various  complications  nothing  came 
of  this  action. 

During  the  summer  of  1842  Miss  Smith  taught  the 
girls  in  the  public  building,  and  Theodore  Conkey  the  boys 
in  a  small  building  in  the  rear  of  the  American  Hotel. 
Rev.  A.  M.  Badger  was  the  teacher  during  the  summer  of 
1843  ;  he  had  been  a  Methodist  preacher  previous  to  coming 
to  Madison,  and  occasionally  occupied  the  pulpit  during  the 
few  months  of  his  sojourn  here.  He  had  from  twenty-five 
to  thirty  scholars.  Text-books  were  as  varied  as  the  colors 
in  Joseph's  coat,  in  all  of  these  early  schools.  They  were 
such  books  as  the  settlers  had  brought  into  the  territory  with 
them,  or  as  some  Eastern  friend  chose  to  forward  when  an 
indefinite  request  would  be  sent  to  the  old  home  to  ship  "  so 
many  arithmetics,"  or  "  so  many  spelling  books,"  to  meet 
the  wants  of  the  growing  population.  It  caused,  therefore, 
no  inconsiderable  flurry  when  Mr.  Badger  attempted  to  in- 
augurate something  like  textual  uniformity.  He  issued  a 
mandate  that  the  scholars  were  to  come  armed,  on  a  certain 
day,  with  Smith's  arithmetic.  As  there  chanced  to  be  more 
copies  of  Adams's  arithmetic  in  the  school  than  any  other 
one  variety,  the  order  was  regarded  as  smacking  of  despo- 
tism. It  was  decided  as  a  bad  precedent  to  allow  the  teacher 
to  dictate  the  kind  of  text-book  to  be  employed.  Neverthe- 
less, Mr.  Badger  quelled  the  rebellion  and  came  off  with 
banners  flying,  not  only  securing  the  supremacy  of  Smith, 
but  carrying  other  changes  which  brought  about  a  fair  degree 
of  uniformitv. 


488  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON. 

In  the  summer  of  this  year  (1843)  Miss  Lucia  A.  Smith 
opened  a  private  school  in  Mr.  Parkinson's  building  on  But- 
ler street,  the  site  of  the  present  Simon's  Hotel.  She  con- 
tinued her  enterprise  during  the  succeeding  summer  (1844). 
Contemporaneous  with  Miss  Smith's  mixed  school  in  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1843,  a  girls'  select  school  was  kept  across 
the  way,  in  David  Brigham's  house,  by  Miss  Eliza  Kimball, 
from  Ohio  (now  Mrs.  Reynolds,  of  Omro).  She  had  about 
fifteen  pupils,  most  of  them  being  from  Mrs.  Gay's  seminary, 
to  which  her's  was  practically  the  successor. 

District  No.  1  returned  this  summer  ninety-two  per- 
sons of  school  age,  between  four  and  twenty  years.  The 
county  school  commissioners,  at  their  meeting  on  the  third 
of  May,  had  apportioned  $492.06  to  the  district,  from  the 
school  tax  collected  for  the  year.*  In  July  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  estimated  that  the  support  of  schools 
and  the  erection  of  school  houses  in  the  county  would 
necessitate  this  year  a  levy  of  $820,  the  rate  being  estab- 
lished at  two  mills  on  the  dollar. 

Benjamin  Holt  was  the  teacher  of  the  Madison  public 
school  for  the  winter  of  1843-44.  In  April,  1844,  the  dis- 
trict reported  159  persons  of  school  age,  and  to  it  was  ap- 
propriated $306.87  of  the  county  school  tax.  As  Madison 
was  now  growing  perceptibly,  and  the  district  income  had 
become  established,  it  was  voted  by  the  directors  this  spring, 
hereafter  to  conduct  the  school  throughout  the  year,  instead 
of  during  the  winter  and  summer  terms  of  three  months 
each,  as  had  been  the  custom  up  to  this  time.  The  pioneer 
period  had  now  closed,  and  the  Madison  public  school  was 
at  last  fairl}'  on  its  feet. 

From  May,  1844,  until  the  summer  of  1845,  David  H. 
AVright  was  the  pedagogue.  In  the  summer  and  fall  of 
1845,  Miss  Matilda  A.  Smedley,  from  Ohio,  instructed  the 
young  ideas,  being  the  last  teacher  to  officiate  in  the  little 
Pinckney,  street  school  house. 

THE    "  LITTLE    BRICK." 

The  number  of  pupils  had  by  this  time  become  so  great 
that  more  extensive  accommodations  were  a  cr3dng  necessity; 
and  in  the  summer  of  1845  the  village  erected  a  small  red- 


*There  were  at  this  time  two  school  districts  in  Dane  county. 
District  No.  2  being  the  town  of  Sun  Prairie,  which  reported  twenty- 
one  of  school  age.  The  total  school  tax  collected  in  the  county  for 
1843  was  $604.39,  there  being  113  of  school  age. 


THE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON.  489 

brick  school  house — subsequently  known  to  the  pioneers  as 
"  The  Little  Brick  " — on  the  site  of  the  present  Third  ward 
school.  The  Little  Brick  cost  from  a  $1,000  to  $1,200,  and 
though  in  later  and  more  ambitious  days  it  was  the  fashion 
to  sneer  at  it,  the  contemporaneous  press  "pointed  with 
pride  "  to  this  evidence  of  a  spirit  of  progress.  For  many 
years  it  was  almost  the  only  hall  for  public  meetings,  and 
many  important  political  gatherings  were  held  within  its 
walls.  The  Methodists  conducted  their  early  meetings  there, 
and  afterwards  the  Baptists   and   the   German   Methodists. 

Royal  Buck  initiated  the  Little  Brick,  as  the  puplic  school 
teacher,  he  occupying  one  end  of  the  building,  while  a 
private  school  was  conducted  in  the  other  by  Jerome  R. 
Brigham.  By  spring  the  attendance  at  the  public  school  had 
increased  to  a  hundred,  and  it  became  necessary  to  crowd  out 
Mr.  Brigham,  and  occupy  both  rooms.  In  the  winter  terms 
Buck  was  now  allowed  a  young  lady  assistant  at  $15  per 
month — "she  to  board  herself" — but  in  summer  time,  when 
many  of  the  boys  were  employed  at  home,  the  master  was 
obliged  to  teach  alone.  This  arrangement  continued  until 
June  of  1847,  Buck's  salary  being  for  the  most  part "  $30  per 
month  and  board  himself,"  although  in  the  last  year  re- 
duced to  $25,  for  the  village  was  financialh'  embarrassed 
about  this  time ;  and  it  was  not  until  1848,  even  at  that  sal- 
ary, that  he  was  able  to  get  his  pay. 

The  summer  of  1847  is  memorable  in  the  school  annals 
of  the  capital,  for  the  erection  of  the  brick  building  of  the 
Madison  Female  Academy,  which  structure  was  afterwards 
occupied  as  the  high  school.  It  cost  $3,000,  was  considered 
at  the  time  something  of  an  architectural  triumph,  and  was 
opened  for  females  only,  on  the  same  general  plan  as  the 
school  organized  for  Mrs.  Gay  five  years  previous.  After 
being  occupied  for  academy  purposes  for  seven  years  by 
Miss  Matilda  S.  Howell,  from  Coldbrook,  Conn.,  the  building 
was  first  rented  and  afterwards  purchased  by  the  city  board 
of  education,  being  used  as  a  central  and  high  school  until 
1873,  when  it  was  demolished  to  make  room  for  the  present 
high  school  building  on  the  same  site.  From  February  to 
August,  1849,  Prof.  J.  W.  Sterling  conducted  the  preparatory 
department  of  the  state  university  on  the  lower  floor,  and 
there  the  first  collegiate  class  of  that  institution  completed 
its  preparation.  Miss  Howell's  pupils  numbered  from  thirty 
to  fifty,  in  different  years,  and  averaged  about  forty.  Among 
them  was  ^"innie  Ream  Hoxie,  the  sculptress,  who  was  born 


490  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS  OP   MADISON. 

in  the  first  dwelling  built  in  Madison — Peck's  old  Madison 
House. 

Samuel  E.  Thornton  held  forth  in  the  Little  Brick  from 
November,  1847,  until  the  summer  of  1849,  a  part  of  the 
time  having  a  young  lady  assistant.  His  successor  was 
Sherman  H.  North,  whose  salary,  in  gross,  for  a  three 
month's  engagement,  was  $60.  North's  successor,  George  D. 
Chapel,  was  able  to  command  $30  per  month. 

The  village  charter,  granted  by  the  legislature  in  1846, 
placed  the  management  of  school  district  No.  1  in  the  hands 
of  the  village  board  of  trustees.  In  order  to  save  expense 
and  avoid  a  constant  and  irritating  conflict  of  authority,  the 
charter  was  amended,  by  act  approved  February  7,  1850,  so 
as  to  return  the  district  to  town  control,  placing  it  on  the 
same  footing  as  other  districts  in  the  town  of  Madison. 
This  condition  of  affairs  continued  until  1855. 

The  population  of  the  village  in  1850  was  1,525,  a  gain 
of  over  one  hundred  per  cent  in  three  years.  There  were 
strong  signs  of  prosperity,  this  season,  and  over  one  hundred 
new  buildings  were  erected.  Among  them  was  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  brick  church,  on  the  east  corner  of  Pinckney 
and  Mifflin  streets;  its  basement  was  afterwards  used  dur- 
ing several  years  for  public  school  purposes,  and  the  build- 
ing, transformed  into  a  store  in  1878,  still  remains.  During 
the  year  a  sale  of  5,320  acres  of  school  and  university  lands 
in  Dane  county  brought  $29,280.03  to  the  common  school 
fund.  The  census,  in  April,  showed  the  presence  of  317 
persons  of  school  age,  of  whom  153  were  in  attendance.  In 
September,  there  were  503  of  school  age,  showing  a  consid- 
erable growth  of  population  during  the  summer. 

James  L.  Enos  was  engaged,  May  11,  to  teach  for  three 
months  at  $30  per  month.  He  was  continued  in  the  service 
for  three  years.  A  graduate  of  the  New  York  state  normal 
school,  he  was  the  first  professionally-trained  teacher  in 
charge  of  the  Madison  public  schools.  Heretofore  the  in- 
structors had  been  persons  who  had  engaged  in  teaching  as 
a  temporary  occupation  in  lack  of  some  more  profitable  em- 
ployment. The  coming  of  Mr.  Enos,  therefore,  marks 
the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  our  school  history. 

He  was  succeeded,  in  the  fall  of  1853,  by  J.  Lyman  Wright, 
and  he  in  turn,  the  following  April,  by  Damon  Y.  Kilgore. 
The  next  fall  term  there  were  267  pupils  on  the  roll.  The 
Little  Brick  was  full  to  overflowing ;  for  a  year  previous  to 
this,  and  for  several  seasons  to  come,  the  primary  department 


THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON.  401 

was  conducted  by  one  of  the  two  assistants  in  the  basement 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  while  the  principal  held 
forth  in  the  little  Congregational  church  on  Webster  street 
(now  owned  b}'  the  German  Presbyterians),  which  had  been 
built  some  years  before. 

THE   VILLAGE   BOARD. 

By  act  of  legislature,  approved  February  13,  ISoo,  the 
village  of  Madison  was  incorporated  into  a  separate  self-gov- 
erned school  district,  apart  from  the  town,  with  six  directors 
who  were  styled  "  The  board  of  education  of  the  village  of 
Madison."  The  present  city  school  board  is  its  lineal 
descendant. 

Mr.  Kilgore  now  became  superintendent,  but  though 
Madison  was  in  the  midst  of  a  "boom" — the  popula- 
tion had  jumped  to  8,863,  a  gain  of  3,737  in  twelve  months 
— he  complained  in  his  annual  report  that  the  schools  had 
not  yet  shared  the  general  prosperity  ;  that  from  150  to  300 
children  were  in  private  schools  at  home  or  abroad,  and  that 
600  were  attending  no  school  whatever,  and  ''as  far  as  they 
are  concerned  might  as  well  live  in  Central  Africa  as  in  the 
capital  of  Wisconsin." 

THE  CITY  SCHOOLS. 

Madison  received  a  city  charter  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1856,  the  population  being  divided  as  equally  as  practicable 
into  four  wards.  Contracts  were  entered  into  for  the  erection 
of  the  First  and  Third  (now  Sixth)  ward  houses,  to  be  com- 
pleted by  the  1st  of  January,  1857 — the  former  to  cost  $4,500 
unfurnished,  and  the  latter  $5,000.  The  central  or  high 
school  was  still  conducted  in  the  church  on  Webster  street 
with  three  teachers,  the  Little  Brick  Avith  two,  and  three 
ward  teachers  were  now  employed. 

The  Madison  schools  were  at  last  on  a  firm  foundation, 
after  twenty  years  of  tribulation,  and  henceforth  kept  pace 
with  the  growth  of  the  town.  The  following  chronology 
will  sufficiently  indicate  for  our  purpose  the  chief  steps  in 
their  progress : 

1856 — City  school  board  organized,  with  Damon  Y.  Kilgore  as 

city  superintendent. 
1857 — First  and  Third  ward  school  buildings  opened ;  fjchool 

commenced  in  Farwell's  addition. 
1858 — Madison  female  academy  building  purchased  and  opened 

as  high  school ;  Greenbush  school  conmienced. 
1859 — Northeast  district  school  commenced. 


492  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON. 

1860 — Mr.  Gallup  served  two  Aveeks  as  superintendent ;  succeed- 
ing Kilgore ;  owing  to  lack  of  funds,  all  schools  closed  in 
summer  term  ;  September  18,  David  Atwood  chosen  super- 
intendent pro  tem.,  succeeded  during  winter  by  0.  M. 
Conover. 

1861 — High  school  conducted  by^Miss  Lucy  L.  Coues  as  select 
academy. 

1862 — James  W.  Ward  chosen  superintendent,  January  7  ;  suc- 
ceeded Mav  3  by  Charles  H.  Allen,  who  resigned  July  10, 
1863. 

1863 — High  school  reopened  in  fall ;  August  22,  F.  B.  AVilliams 
elected  superintendent,  sendng  throughout  the  school 
year. 

1864 — William  M.  Colby  elected  superintendent  September  6, 
resigning  January  17, 1865  ;  auxilian,'  school  opened  on  Uni- 
versity avenue. 

1865 — William  Welch  elected  superintendent  pro  tem.,  January 
17,  serving  till  spring,  when  J.  T.  Lovewell  succeeded  him 
as  superintendent,  the  latter  serving  through  school  year. 

1866 — Fourth  ward  building  opened  January  7  ;  B.  M.  Reynolds 
elected  superintendent  in  fall,  serving  through  summer 
term  of  1872. 

1867 — Second  ward  building  opened. 

1870 — Fifth  ward  building  opened. 

1872 — Walter  H.  Chase  assumed  superintendency  in  fall,  serving 
through  school  year. 

1873 — High  school  building  erected  and  opened  ;  Samuel  Shaw 
commenced  in  fall  as  superintendent,  serving  through 
summer  term  of  1884. 

1875 — July  2,  high  school  graduated  its  first  class. 

1877 — Auxiliary  building  erected  in  Third  ward  ;  March  17, 
state  university  admits  high  school  to  its  accredited  list. 

1878 — High  school  commercial  course  inaugurated. 

1879 — Shaw  prize  instituted. 

1882 — Large  addition  to  Second  ward  building. 

1884 — July  19,  William  H.  Beach  chosen  superintendent. 

1887 — Large  addition  to  high  school  building — doubling  its 
capacity — costing  $28,000.  The  Third  ward  having  been 
divided,  its  school  building  became  that  of  the  new  Sixth 
ward,  and  a  new  Third  ward  school  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
$21,000,  on  the  site  of  the  "Little  Brick,"  demolished  this 
year. 

1890—A  four-room  addition  to  the  First  ward  building,  costing 
811,000. 

1891 — Greenbush  school  erected,  costing  $6,000  ;  Superintendent 
Beach  resigned  at  the  close  of  the  school  year  in  June ; 
R.  B.  Dudgeon  elected  as  his  successor,  July  2. 


THE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON.  493 

The  following  table  shows  the  city  school  census,  en- 
rollment, and  expenditures,  since  the  organization  of  the 
city  board  : 

Year.  Census.       Enrollment.     Expenditures. 

1856 694  $5,082  29 

1857 1,865     934  18.160  21 

1858 934     524  8;611  67 

1859 11,272  46 

1860 2,240           ....  7,624  40 

1861 2,310           650  3,855  61 

1862 2,380           481  5,084  95 

1863 2,417           826  7,246  11 

1864 2,797           921  7,474  89 

1865 3,193        1,389  8,789  13 

1866 3,366        1,347  9,436  05 

1867 3,559        1,626  17,599  06 

1868 2,087  34,815  88 

1869 2,080  19,315  00 

1870 1,992  31,351  67 

1871 3,700        2,256  29,149  56 

1872 1,927  25,366  21 

1873 3,797        1,183  34,760  62 

1874 3,668        1,371  34,193  75 

1875 3,766        1,409  33,184  93 

1876 3,619        1,348  32,800  07 

1877 3,926        1,378  32,884  00 

1878 3,951         1,352  27,352  95 

1879 4,011         1,380  24,503  36 

1880 3,517        1,335  23,305  16 

1881 3,480        1,480  23,028  82 

1882 3,711        1,635  27,566  83 

1883 3,707        1,787  32,683  23 

1884 3,702        1,712  28,836  17 

1885 3,802        1,871  24,610  38 

1886 4,146         1,810  25,696  23 

1887 4,231        1,772  62,638  53 

1888 4,349        1,899  50,086  50 

1889 4,581        2,031  32,777  34 

1890 4,571         1,970  51,240  59 

1891 4,749        2,037  44,514  21 

1892 4,488        1,848  39,974  07 

Without  explanation  the  enrollment  figures  given  in 
the  above  table  would  be  misleading.  Until  the  close  of 
Superintendent  Shaw's  administration  (1884)  the  method  of 
arriving  at  the  enrollment  w^as  by  counting  the  scholars  on 
the  rolls  at  a  given  time.     Now,  the  enrollment  includes  all 


494  THE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON. 

wlio  liave  attended  school  during  the  year.  The  decrease  in 
the  census  from  1891  to  1892  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
previous  to  1892  the  state  university  students  were  included 
in  the  enumeration  ;  but  State  Superintendent  Wells  object- 
ing to  this,  they  were  omitted  in  1892. 

RETROSPECT. 

Fifty-five  years  have  now  elapsed  since  Miss  Brayton 
gathered  her  little  flock  in  Judge  Palmer's  modest  log  house 
on  King  street,  and  thus  inaugurated  public  education  at 
the  Wisconsin  capital.  For  a  long  period,  progress  in  this 
•direction  was  almost  imperceptible,  but  in  reviewing  the 
backwoods  epoch  of  our  history  we  can  see  that  there  was 
substantial  advancement  from  year  to  year.  The  settlers 
were  poor,  the  ambitious  colony  Avas  oppressed  by  many 
difficulties,  the  outlook  was  often  most  discouraging ;  but 
local  pride  in  the  district  school  being  always  marked,  its 
rate-bill  was  cheerfully  responded  to  even  at  much  personal 
inconvenience,  and  the  children  were  treated  to  the  best 
educational  facilities  at  command.  In  the  village  period 
and  in  the  early  years  of  the  city,  the  guardians  of  the 
schools  were  frequently  met  by  serious  financial  em- 
barrassments, and  occasionally  it  seemed  as  if  the  prospect 
would  never  brighten,  but  persistent  pluck  enabled  them 
each  time  to  weather  the  storm.  For  the  past  twenty-five 
years,  there  has  been  comparatively  smooth  sailing,  yet  were 
the  inside  history  of  the  school  board  written,  there  would  be 
found  many  unforeseen  rocks  quietly  avoided  in  the  nick  of 
time,  innumerable  troubled  seas  privately  quieted  by  the  oil  of 
shrewd  management.  But  the  main  fact  of  complete  suc- 
cess is  all  that  we  can  here  deal  with.  The  history  of  our 
schools  is  a  reflex  of  the  career  of  our  community.  Early 
growth  was  slow  and  often  dangerously  hampered ;  later 
development,  while  not  rapid,  has  been  eminently  sound. 

The  first  school  had  but  one  teacher  and  a  dozen  pupils, 
of  all  ages  and  conditions.  To-day,  we  have  fifty  teachers,  a 
salary  list  of  $25,550  per  annum,  and  over  two  thousand 
carefully  graded  pupils.  As  successors  to  Miss  Brayton's 
rude  school-room,  with  its  slab  benches  and  bare  walls,  we 
have  nine  comfortable  buildings,  supplied  with  the  best 
modern  furniture  and  appliances — conveniences  far  better 
than  ever  dreamed  of  in  the  wealthiest  metropolitan  schools 
as  late,  even,  as  a  decade  ago,  while  the  board  of  education 
has  in  charge  about  $235,000  worth  of  school  property,  real 


THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   MADISON.  495 

and  personal.  In  the  place  of  the  rude  curriculum  of  the 
backwoods  is  now  an  elaborate  S3^stem,  which  receives  the 
unlettered  child,  and,  after  twelve  years  of  careful  training, 
graduates  him  equipped  to  enter  the  state  university  or 
almost  any  other  college  in  the  land.  Few  cities  in  the 
country,  of  15,000  inhabitants,  have  so  excellent  and  well- 
managed  a  system — certainly  none  such  can  boast  the  posses- 
sion of  its  superior. 

Reuben  G.  Thwaites. 


Racine  City  and  Her  Schools. 


In  November,  1834,  Captain  Gilbert  Knapp,  a  young 
naval  officer  in  the  revenue  service  of  the  United  States, 
conceived  the  project  of  locating  a  village  on  the  west  shore 
of  Lake  Michigan,  and  thus  founding  a  future  city  and 
achieving  fortune  and  fame  for  himself.  While  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  government,  previous  to  1828,  he  had  visited  the 
mouth  of  Root  river,  and  the  recollection  of  that  visit  in- 
duced him  to  seek  again  the  place  and  claim  it  for  the  real- 
ization of  his  enterprise. 

Starting  from  the  village  of  Chicago  with  two  retainers, 
the  party,  on  horseback,  took  the  old  Green  Bay  Indian  trail 
to  the  north,  past  Grosse  Point,  and  came  on  to  Jambeau's 
trading  post,  at  Skunk  Grove,  in  the  town  of  Mount  Pleas- 
ant, then  a  noted  point  in  this  section.  Here  he  secured  the 
services  of  an  Indian  guide  and  set  off  with  his  companions 
to  revisit  the  mouth  of  Root  river.  Selecting  a  location  near 
the  lake  shore,  between  Second  and  Third  streets,  he  erected 
his  claim  cabin  and  located  his  claim,  it  being  the  east  frac- 
tional half-section  9,  of  town  3,  of  range  23,  containing,  on 
both  sides  of  the  river,  about  140  acres,  which  now  consti- 
tutes what  is  known  as  the  original  plat  of  Racine. 

Captain  Knapp  did  not  remain  on  his  claim  during  that 
winter,  but  leaving  his  men  as  his  agents,  he  returned  to 
Chicago,  seeking  the  aid  of  men  who  were  able  to  assist  him 
in  his  enterprise,  whom  he  found  in  the  persons  of  Jacob  A. 
Barker,  of  Buifalo,  and  Gurdon  Hubbard,  of  Chicago.  The 
village  received  the  name  of  Port  Gilbert  at  first,  in  honor 
of  its  projector.  The  little  claim  cabin  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  soon  became  a  landmark  for  those  who  had 
turned  their  steps  westward,  seeking  homes  in  this  new  and 
promising  region,  and  settlers  made  their  claims,  and  built 
their  homes  in  its  vicinity.  The  name  of  Port  Gilbert  soon 
gave  place  to  the  more  pretentious  title  of  Racine,  but  Root 
river  still  remains  Root  river,  though  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  original  and  more  euphonious  Indian  name,  Chip- 
pecothen,  had  not  been  retained,  or  at  least  commemorated 
in  the  street  that  once  bore  it. 


496 


RACINE   CITY   AND  HER  SCHOOLS. 


497 


In  the  spring  of  1832,  Captain  Knapp  returned  to  liis 
claim,  and  set  about  building  the  city.  The  river  found  its 
shifting  and  uncertain  course  through  the  sandy  beach, 
sometimes  reaching  the  lake  waters  as  far  south  as  Fifth 
street.  A  straight  harbor  was  to  be  dug,  dredged,  docked 
and  fitted  to  receive  that  lake  shipping  which  was  to  bring 
commerce  and  wealth  to  the  city.     Bridges  were  to  be  built, 


BACINE   HIGH  SCHOOIi. 

Erected  in  1853.    From  which  the  first  high  school  class  was  graduated  in  Wisconsin,  December  24, 

1857,  consisting  of  ten  young  gentlemen  and  ladles. 

streets  to  be  opened,  and  highways  were  to  be  laid  out. to 
reach  the  farms  that  were  being  taken  up  in  Southern  Wis- 
•  consin,  whose  trade  it  was  hoped  would  centre  in  Racine. 
These  enterprises,  and  the  manifold  material  wants  that  ever 
cluster  around  the  settlers'  cabins,  for  a  time  absorbed  the 
entire  energies  of  the  people.  Thus  for  a  season,  itinerant 
preachers  administered  religious  privileges  to  the  people, 
and  soon  the  volunteer  schoolmaster  opened   his  primitive 


498  RACINE   CITY   AND   HER   SCHOOLS. 

temple  of  learning,  of  which  he  was  the  sole  authorit}',  finan- 
cial, educational,  and  otherwise — and  furnished  educational 
facilities  to  the  generation  that  soon  began  "  to  rise  "  quite 
rapidly  around  the  settlers'  cabins.  Nor  are  these  early  set- 
tlers to  be  censured,  if,  in  the  midst  of  their  numerous  cares 
and  labors,  they  were  con  tent' to  make  use  of  these  volun- 
teers, to  the  exclusion  of  free  public  schools. 

In  May,  1837,  a  post-office  was  established  at  Racine, 
and  Dr.  Bushnell  B.  Carey  was  appomted  the  first  post- 
master. From  this  time  the  village  made  good  progress. 
Hotels  were  erected,  stores  were  opened,  a  court  house  and 
jail  were  built,  and  Racine  was  fairly  launched  among  the 
embryo  cities  of  the  great  West,  with  glowing  prospects  of 
success,  which  have  been  and  are  still  being  fully  realized. 

From  1818  to  1837,  Wisconsin  formed  a  part  of  the 
territory  of  Michigan,  but  when  Michigan  became  a  state  in 
1837,  Wisconsin,  with  a  vast  section  of  country  west  of  it, 
was  established  as  the  territory  of  Wisconsin  ;  and,  by  act  of 
congress,  the  laws  of  Michigan  were  extended  over  it,  and 
with  them,  a  school  law.  But  little  was  done  for  public 
schools  in  Racine  under  that  law,  except  that,  on  the  12th 
of  June,  1837,  Benjamin  C.  Pearce,  Ammi  Clark  and  Sidney 
S.  Derbyshire,  who  had  been  elected  county  commissioners 
on  April  4th  of  that  year,  divided  the  county  into  school 
districts,  of  which  District  No.  1  was  the  town  of  Racine, 
including  the  village.  In  1836,  the  first  school  house  was 
built  in  the  village,  located  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Third 
and  Main  streets.  It  was  a  very  unpretentious  structure, 
sixteen  feet  square,  a  frame  building,  and  was  presided  over 
and  managed  by  a  man  named  Bradley,  who  was  the  first 
schoolmaster  of  Racine.  This  was  not  a  free  school,  nor 
even  a  public  school,  but  it  was  the  pioneer  of  a  long  line  of 
select  schools,  academies  and  seminaries,  which  served  the 
public  by  taking  care  of  the  intellectual  training  of  their 
children,  at  the  expense  of  their  patrons. 

In  the  session  of  the  territorial  legislature  of  1839-40,  a 
school  law  was  passed,  establishing  and  regulating  common 
scnools,  and  providing  for  the  management  of  school  lands, 
which  law  was  revised  and  improved  in  the  session  of  1840-41. 
In  the  management  of  the  schools,  it  was  modeled  closely 
after  the  system  then  in  operation  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
Racine  at  once  availed  herself  of  its  provisions,  and  at  the 
first  annual  town  meeting,  held  on  the  5th  day  of  April, 
1842,  Marshall   M.  Strong,   Eldad  Smith   and   Lyman   K. 


RACINE   CITY   AND   HER  SCHOOLS. 


499 


Smith  were  elected  the  first  school  commissioners  for  the 
town.  Their  duties  were  to  take  charge  of  the  school  sec- 
tion, to  collect  the  revenue  therefrom,  and  to  apportion  the 
same  to  the  several  school  districts  in  the  town.  Section  16 
being  located,  as  it  is  in  this  town,  essentially  in  the  village, 
required  considerable  care,  and  was  productive  of  consider- 
able revenue.     They  were  also  reauired  to  divide  the  town 


LINCOLN   GRAMMAR   SCHOOL. 


into  school  districts,  to  examine  and  license  public  school 
teachers,  and  to  take  general  supervision  of  the  schools. 
Each  district  was  provided  with  three  trustees,  a  clerk  and 
collector,  who  were  authorized  to  levy  and  collect  all  neces- 
sary school  taxes,  and  to  manage  the  affairs  of  their  districts, 
the  village  or  town  authorities  not  meddling  with  the 
schools.     This  town  was  divided  into  four  school  districts — 


500  RACINE   CITY   AND   HER  SCHOOLS. 

one  comprising  the  village,  one  north  of  it,  one  west  of  it^ 
and  one  south  of  it. 

Steps  were  immediately  taken  for  the  erection  of  a 
public  school  house  in  the  village,  and  for  the  permanent 
establishment  of  a  public  school.  .The  lots  where  the  Sec- 
ond ward  school  house  now  stands,  being  on  Section  16^ 
which  the  town  was  then  supposed  to  own,  were  selected  as 
a  proper  school  site,  which  has  since  been  considerably 
enlarged  by  the  purchase  of  property  on  the  south  of  it. 
During  the  summer  of  1842,  a  one-story  brick  school  house 
was  erected  on  the  west  end  of  the  site,  near  the  corner  of 
College  avenue  (then  Barnstable  street)  and  Seventh  street. 
This  was  the  first  public  school  house  in  Racine ;  and 
later,  in  the  same  year,  Samuel  W.  Hill  opened  the 
first  public  school.  Mr.  Hill  had  acquired  reputation  in  a 
private  school  southwest  of  the  village,  and  seems  to  have 
been  a  satisfactory  choice.  He  was  succeeded  by  Simeon  C. 
Yout,  until  quite  lately  an  old  resident  of  this  city.  Almost 
immediately  after  the  opening  of  this  school,  there  was  a 
loud  cry  for  "  more  school  room."  This  call  was  met  by  the 
erection  of  a  frame  building  on  the  east  end  of  the  same  lot,, 
which  was  used  as  a  school  for  the  girls  and  the  small  boys, 
over  which,  in  1844,  Miss  Margaret  Carswell  (afterwards 
Mrs.  Samuel  G.  Knight)  presided,  whose  daughter.  Miss 
Margaret  Knight,  has  for  so  many  years  served  in  the  Fffth 
ward  school,  as  a  primary  teacher. 

From  1842  to  1852,  during  the  village  organization  and 
the  first  three  years  of  the  city  organization,  the  public 
schools  were  managed  under  the  general  laws  of  the  territory 
and  state  by  trustees  and  other  district  officers,  as  neithfer  the 
village  nor  the  first  city  charter  made  any  provisions  for 
maintaining  them.  On  April  4th,  1848,  the  last  town  meet- 
ing for  the  town  of  Racine,  including  the  village,  was  held 
at  the  court  house  preparatory  to  Wisconsin  becoming  a 
state,  and  Racine  a  city.  For  obvious  reasons,  it  was  re- 
solved at  that  meeting  that  no  election  of  town  officers  should 
be  made,  but  that  all  the  officers  should  hold  over  until  the 
next  annual  meeting,  which  for  the  town  was  held  at  Daniel 
Slauson's  cooper  shop  on  April  3d,  1849,  and  at  that  meet- 
ing Mr.  Floyd  P.  Baker  was  elected  superintendent  of  schools 
for  tlie  town.  In  consequence  of  no  election  being  made  in 
1848  Isaac  J.  Ullman,  Thomas  J.  Emerson  and  Thomas  G. 
Burgess  continued  to  act  as  town  school  commissioners,  a 
position  which  they  had  held  for  several  years,  greatly  ta 


RACINE  CITY   AND   HER  SCHOOLS.  501 

their  own  credit  and  to  the  profit  of  the  schools  of  the  town. 
They  were  the  last  school  commissioners  elected  under  the 
territorial  organization.  On  the  second  Monday  in  March, 
1848,  Wisconsui  became  a  state,  and  the  care  and  ownership 
of  the  school  section,  which  was  rapidly  becoming  city  resi- 
dence property  and  hence  quite  valuable,  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  state. 

This  period,  from  1841  to  1852,  had  been  a  period  of 
considerable  growth,  of  transition  and  of  evolution  in  the 
schools  of  Racine.  In  1845  the  village  was  divided  into 
three  districts,  on  the  north,  the  south  and  the  west  sides  of 
the  river  respectively,  and  schools  were  established  and  main- 
tained accordingly.  In  1849  the  school  on  the  West  side, 
on  Marquette  street,  between  Liberty  and  State  streets,  en- 
rolled over  140  pupils,  all  of  whom  could  not  find  seats  in 
the  school  house,  but  were  accustomed  to  resort  to  the  shade 
of  the  trees,  that  then  covered  that  section,  to  pursue  their 
studies.  At  the  first  city  election,  held  on  April  13th,  1849, 
Mr.  A.  Constantine  Barry  was  elected  the  first  superintend- 
ent of  schools  in  the  city  of  Racine  and  held  that  position 
until  April,  1853.  He  was  a  man  of  good  attainments,  of 
versatile  talents  and  of  various  callings — a  preacher  of  some 
reputation  in  the  Universalist  church,  the  editor  and  pub- 
lisher of  **  The  Old  Oaken  Bucket "  (the  organ  of  the  Sons  of 
Temperance),  and  an  educator  of  considerable  pretension. 
Acting,  as  he  did,  under  the  general  school  law  of  the  state, 
he  did  not  have  that  opportunity  to  impress  himself  upon 
the  schools  that  later  superintendents,  acting  under  the 
special  city  law,  have  had.  On  June  26,  1855,  he  became 
state  superintendent  of  schools,  which  position  he  held  until 
January  4th,  1858.  In  1861  he  became  chaplain  of  the 
Second  Regiment  of  Wisconsin  volunteers,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  during  the  war. 

The  divided  and  discordant  condition  of  educational  af- 
fairs in  the  city,  under  the  state  law  and  the  district 
system,  could  not  by  any  possibility  be  productive  of 
satisfactory  educational  results,  though  the  school  offi- 
cers and  the  teachers  made  strenuous  exertions,  through 
county  societies  and  in  other  ways,  to  improve  the  pub- 
lic schools ;  and  yet  that  these  early  schools  did  do  much 
good  work,  and  did  serve  the  people  fairly  well,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  testimony  of  Colonel  John  G.  McMynn,  con- 
tained in  a  recent  letter  touching  this  point,  in  which  he 
says:     "I   am   of  the  opinion  that  the  schools  were    much 


502  RACINE   CITY   AND   HER   SCHOOLS. 

better  than  they  are  generally  supposed  to  have  been.  This 
opinion  is  based  upon  the  fact  that  when  I  commenced 
teaching  in  Racine  in  1853,  I  found  very  many  well-taught 
children,  who  had  attended  only  these  district  schools.  I 
think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  private  schools  of  Ra- 
cine, previous  to  1853,  must  have  been  of  a  superior  charac- 
ter. In  1851  or  1852  I  attended  a  public  examination  and 
exhibition  of  the  public  schools,  held  in  Union  hall,  and  I 
recollect  that  I  considered  it  very  creditable  to  both  teachers 
and  scholars.  During  my  frequent  visits  to  Racine,  I  often 
talked  with  Dr.  Wadsworth,  A.  C.  Barry,  Marshall  M.  Strong 
and  others,  and  found  that  they  were  deeply  interested  in 
education.  I  have  always  considered  the  change  in  the 
school  system,  which  occurred  in  1852,  as  an  evolution  rather 
than  a  revolution,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  the  great  credit 
received  by  those  who  managed  the  schools  after  1853  ought 
to  be  shared  with  the  educational  pioneers  in  the  good  cause 
during  the  ten  years  previous." 

In  1851  the  school  interests  of  the  city  were  taken  ef- 
fectually in  hand  by  those  citizens  who  realized  the  necessity 
of  a  thorough  re-organization  of  educational  affairs.  On  the 
14th  of  April,  1852,  a  special  school  law  for  Racine  was  en- 
acted by  the  legislature,  modeled  closely  after  the  school  sys- 
tem then  in  operation  in  Rochester,  Western  New  York. 
By  this  law  all  public  schools  of  the  city  were  consolidated 
into  one  district,  and  ample  powers  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  board  of  education,  consisting  of  two  commissioners 
from  each  ward,  and  a  city  superintendent,  all  elective. 
Some  of  the  more  important  powers  have  since  been  repealed^ 
and  the  school  law,  considerably  modified,  has  been  made  a 
part  of  the  city  charter.  The  hrst  board  of  education  under 
the  new  law  was  organized  in  April,  1852,  and  was  as  fol- 
lows: 

President,  Robert  Gather ;  clerk,  A.  C.  Barry  ;  commis- 
sioners, Orville  W.  Barnes,  Robert  Gather,  Edwin  Gould, 
Warner  W.  Wadsworth,  Gharles  Herrick,  Nathan  Joy,  John 
Osborne,  Seneca  Raymond,  Edwin  A.  Roby,  Sidney  A. 
Sage ;  city  superintendent,  A.  G.  Barry. 

At  the  same  time  the  city  council  authorized  the  selec- 
tion of  a  site  for  a  high  school,  and  the  issue  of  the  city  bonds 
to  the  amount  of  $6,000,  for  the  erection  of  the  proper  build- 
ing. The  site  chosen  was  one  already  in  the  possession  of 
the  city  schools,  and  a  substantial  brick  building,  50  by  75 
feet,  two  stories  with  a  high  basement,  was  at  once  erected. 


•i   if 


Ibon.  3obn  (5.  flDcflD^nn. 

The  Hon.  Jolm  G.  McMyiin,  a  graduate ■  of  Williams  col- 
lege, Mass.,  class  of  '48,  began  teaching  in  Sei)tember  of  that 
year  a  i)rivate  school  at  Southport  (now  Kenosha),  Wisconsin. 
The  ])iil)lie  school  system  of  the  state  having  been  organized  in 
1848-9,  Colonel  McMynn  was  employed  in  the  })ublic  schools  of 
Kenosha  from  1849  to  1853,  and  here  did  work  for  which  he 
will  long  be  remembered  as  a  strong  and  thorough  pu])lic  school 
teacher. 

In  1853  he  accepted  the  principalship  of  the  Racine  high 
school.  Here  his  ability  became  generally  acknowledged  and 
the  school  took  high  rank,  and  was  known  as  a  n)ost  thorough 
and  efficiently  conducted  educational  institution.  From  1858 
to  1861  the  city  of  Racine  had  the  rejjutation  of  having  the  best 
high  school  and  the  most  efficient  school  system  in  the  state. 

In  18()1,  Colonel  MclVIynnwas  commissioned  as  major  of  the 
Tenth  Wisconsin  infantry,  and,  after  two  years'  service,  he 
resigned,  having  in  the  meantime  been  promoted  to  the  colon- 
elcy of  his  regiment.  He  was  then  employed  by  the  board  of 
normal  school  regents  as  their  agent,  and  after  holding  this  posi- 
tion about  one  year,  was  elected  state  superintendent,  which 
office  he  held  until  January  1,  1868.  He  was  a  regent  of  the 
state  university  for  more  than  twenty  years  at  different  times 
from  1856  to  1887.  In  1868  he  Avas  employed  by  the  J.  I.  Case 
Threshing  Machine  company,  of  Racine,  to  take  charge  of  the 
sales  and  collections  of  the  company,  which  j)osition  he  held 
until  1875,  when  he  resigned  in  orcler  to  found  and  conduct  a 
school  in  which  he  could  realize  the  results  of  his  ex])erience 
and  his  educational  theories  better  than  was  possible  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  He  founded  Racine  academy,  which  he  conducted 
with  signal  success  until  1882.  A  severe  attack  of  insomnia 
caused  him  to  transfer  the  charge  of  this  school  to  other  hands  ; 
and,  as  his  partial  deafness,  caused  by  his  military  service, 
gradually  increased,  he  did  not  resume  his  active  educational 
work.  In  1886,  the  family  removed  to  Madison,  Wis.,  for  the 
purpose  of  having  the  children  at  home  while  receiving  their 
collegiate  education  in  the  state  university,  where  their  home 
still  remains. 

In  his  official  duties  Mr.  McMynn  was  unceasingly  active. 
A  vigorous,  and  intelligent  advocacy  of  the  common  sense  of 
practical  pedagogy  characterized  his  work  and  won  for  him  the 
confidence  of  the  communities  where  he  was  called  for  advice  or 
assistance. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  his  residence  in  the  state,  he 
was  widely  known  as  a  lecturer  on  educational  matters.  In  the 
conduct  of  teachers'  institutes  he  was  able  to  impart  his  enthu- 
siasm and  clear  notions  of  method  to  hundreds  of  those  who, 
in  after  years  have  brought  to  fruition  the  good  seed  so  abund- 
antly sown  bv  Col.  McMynn. 

W.  E.  A. 


RACINE   CITY   AND   HER   SCHOOLS.  503 

which  is  now  occupied  by  tlie  Second  ward  school.  It  was 
an  excellent  structure  for  the  times,  and  ranked  with  the  best 
high  school  buildings  in  the  state.  The  board  then  proceeded 
to  select  the  man  who  should  put  the  new  system  into  prac- 
tical operation,  and  realize  the  anticipations  of  the  people. 
John  G.  McMynn,  then  a  successful  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  Kenosha,  was  called  to  the  principalship,  and  the 
sequal  showed  that  they  liad  made  no  mistake  in  their  selec- 
tion. Mr.  McMynn  was  a  graduate  of  Williams  college,  and 
a  man  of  great  executive  ability,  which  was  valuable  in  his 
new  position,  and  of  large  and  successful  experience  as  an 
educator.  Mrs.  Ella  Wiley  McMynn  accepted  the  position 
of  preceptress,  and  her  name  will  ever  hold  a  high  and  sacred 
place  in  the  love  and  esteem  of  every  pupil  who  profited  by 
her  example  and  instruction  during  the  five  years  of  her 
work  in  the  Racine  high  school,  in  which  she  finished  her 
life's  work.  On  taking  his  position,  Mr.  McMynn  proceeded 
at  once  to  systematize,  organize  and  unify  the  workings  of 
the  school,  to  train  the  teachers  in  improved  methods,  and 
to  establish  order  and  discipline,  and  succeeded  fully  in 
making  his  educational  energy  and  ability  felt  in  every 
department. 

In  April,  1853,  the  Rev.  M.  P.  Kinney  was  elected  city 
superintendent,  a  position  which  he  continued  to  hold  until 
April,  1857,  and  by  his  intelligent  aid  and  sympathy, 
strengthened  by  the  cordial  support  of  the  entire  board  of 
education,  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  success  of  the  sys- 
tem, and  the  Racine  high  school  soon  became  the  pet  and 
pride  of  the  city. 

The  situation  and  the  plan  of  work  are  well  set  forth  in 
the  report  of  the  principal  of  the  high  school,  made  to  the 
board  of  education  in  April,  1858,  from  which  the  following 
is  taken.  "  It  is  now  nearly  five  years  since  the  present  plan 
of  organization  went  into  operation.  Previous  to  this  period, 
interest  in  education  was  confined  to  a  few  of  our  citizens. 
Under  the  district  system,  which  was  at  first  adopted,  it  was 
seen  that  no  efficiency  could  be  secured,  and  little  progress 
could  be  made.  School  accommodations  were  poor  and 
limited.  Teachers  were  embarrassed,  and  their  well  laid 
plans  were  often  thwarted  by  apathy  or  opposition.  Schools, 
public  and  private,  were  numerous,  but  not  permanent ; 
teachers  were  qualified  and  self-denying,  but  not  successful ; 
and  while  money  was  liberally  provided,  it  was  uselessly  ex- 
pended, so  that  many  began  to  look  with  disfavor  upon  pub- 


504  RACINE   CITY   AND   HER   SCHOOLS. 

lie  schools,  and  if  not  unwilling  to  try  the  experiment  of  a 
thorough  organization,  they  were  not  willing  to  co-operate 
and  earnestly  labor  to  carry  it  to  a  successful  issue." 

The  original  plan  of  organization,  as  stated  in  the  re- 
port, was  as  follows:  "In  December,  1853,  the  high  school 
was  opened,  and  the  intermediate  and  primary  departments 
organized.  The  plan  of  organization  is  as  follows :  The 
city  constitutes  one  district,  and  all  residents  of  the  city,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  four  and  twenty,  are  entitled  to  admission 
into  that  department  for  which  they  are  found  qualified. 
There  are  four  departments — primary,  intermediate,  gram- 
mar and  high  school.  The  high  school  and  grammar 
school  districts  embrace  the  whole  city ;  there  are  section 
districts  for  the  intermediate,  and  sub-districts  for  the  prim- 
ary schools.  From  the  same  report  we  find  that  "  when  the 
schools  were  organized  (in  1853)  only  nine  scholars  were 
found  qualified  to  enter  the  high  school,"  and  it  became 
necessary  to  have  a  large  preparatory  class  in  the  high 
school  room. 

In  April,  1857,  the  Rev.  O.  O.  Stearns,  a  liberally  edu- 
cated and  earnest  school  man,  was  elected  city  superintendent, 
and  from  his  report  in  April,  1858,  the  following  items  are 
taken :  "During  the  past  year,  a  new  school  library,  con- 
sisting of  over  a  thousand  volumes,  has  been  purchased  and 
placed  within  the  reach  of  the  scholars  and  their  parents." 
This  library  was  well  selected,  embracing  much  of  the 
standard  literature  of  that  day,  and  the  remains  of  it  still 
form  the  basis  of  our  school  library.  "At  the  close  of  the 
last  term  (December  24,  1857)  a  class  often  young  gentlemen 
and  young  ladies  graduated  from  our  high  school,  and  re- 
ceived appropriate  diplomas.  That  was  an  event  of  too 
much  importance  to  be  overlooked  in  our  annual  report. 
The  day  of  their  graduation  was  a  proud  one  for  our  city 
schools  ;  and  could  all  of  our  citizens  have  been  present  on 
that  occasion,  they  would  have  felt  amply  repaid  for  the 
sacrifices  they  have  been  called  upon  to  make  to  sustain 
them."  Let  it  be  here  noted,  that  this  was  the  first  class 
that  was  ever  graduated  from  a  high  school  in  Wisconsin. 
It  was  truly  a  gala  day  for  the  friends  of  the  schools  in 
Racine.  The  exercises  were  held  in  the  large  upper  room  of 
the  school  building,  which  then  was  nearly  the  full  size  of  the 
building ;  but  at  an  early  hour  standing  room  alone  was 
available,  and  many,  unable  to  gain  an  entrance,  were  turned 
away.  The  music  was  vocal  and  was  furnished  by  the 
pupils. 


RACINE   CITY   AND   HER   SCHOOLS.  505 

From  that  first  class  to  the  present  time  each  year  has 
furnished  a  graduating  class  except  1858,  1863,  1866,  and 
1869.  The  class  of  December,  1857,  was  properly  the  class 
of  1858,  and  hence  was  not  a  failure,  and  the  other  excep- 
tions were  caused  by  the  numerous  enlistments  of  older 
pupils  from  all  the  schools  during  the  war.  The  largest 
class  was  that  of  1889,  being  twenty-two  ;  the  smallest  class 
that  of  1872,  being  three.  The  whole  number  of  graduates 
has  been  333,  of  whom  90  were  young  men  and  243  were 
young  women,  a  truly  noble  record,  both  for  the  school  and 
for  the  people.  When  the  war  of  the  rebellion  broke  out,  in 
1861,  and  during  its  continuance,  the  high  school  responded 
nobly  to  the  country's  call,  furnishing  from  thirty  to  forty 
soldiers,  and  many  of  the  older  pupils  from  the  ward  schools 
increased  the  number  largely.  Six  members  of  the  high 
school  lost  their  lives  in  the  cause,  and  a  marble  tablet  pre- 
serves their  names  and  memory  in  golden  letters  on  the  walls 
of  the  high  school  study-room.  Principal  McMynn  also 
volunteered,  and  went  as  major  of  the  Tenth  regiment  of 
Wisconsin  infantry  ;  and,  after  doing  soldierly  service  in  the 
war  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Alabama,  returned  as 
colonel  of  his  regiment.  Since  his  return  he  has  served  as 
state  superintendent  four  years,  and  has  filled  various  other 
public  positions. 

Among  the  other  prominent  educators  who  have  served 
as  principals  of  Racine  high  school  and  whose  influence  has 
been  felt  in  the  school  system,  mention  should  be  made  of 
Selim  H.  Peabody,  LL.  D.,  who  went  from  Racine  to  the 
Chicago  high  school,  has  since  occupied  several  high  posi- 
tions of  educational  trust  (inclading  that  of  president  of  the 
Illinois  state  universit}'  at  Champaign)  and  is  now  chief  o( 
the  department  of  liberal  arts  in  the  World's  Columbian 
exposition  ;  George  8.  Albee,  who  went  to  Oshkosh  as  presi- 
dent of  the  state  normal  school,  a  position  which  for  many 
years  he  has  filled  with  great  ability,  and  still  continues  to 
hold ;  O.  S.  Westcott,  who  holds  the  principalship  of  the 
North  side  high  school  in  Chicago;  Colonel  E.  Barton  Wood 
and  Colonel  Henry  S.  Pomeroy,  both  veteran  officers  in  the 
civil  war;  and  all  were  men  of  liberal  education,  being  col- 
legians. 

In  December,  1853,  the  schools  consisted  of  five  prima- 
ries, one  intermediate  and  one  high  school,  the  grammar 
school  being  at  that  time,  and  for  many  years  after,  com- 
bined with  the  high  school.     There  were  about  700  pupils 


506  RACINE   CITY    AND   HER   SCHOOLS. 

in  attendance,  and  tliirteen  teachers  were  employed.  The 
rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  pupils  soon  made  it  evident 
that  a  large  increase  in  school  room  must  be  furnished  ;  and, 
in  1855,  the  city  council  provided  the  means  for  erecting 
three  school  buildings,  and  during  the  fall  and  winter  they 
were  built  in  the  Third,  Fourth  and  Fifth  wards  respect- 
ively. They  were  substantial,  two-story  brick  buildings,  40 
by  50  feet,  in  each  of  which  there  was  organized  a  primary 
and  an  intermediate  school,  with  four  teachers  and  about 
200  pupils ;  and  the  old  buildings  were  then  abandoned. 
These  buildings,  commodious  and  creditable  for  the  times, 
relieved  the  great  pressure,  and  they  are  still  doing  good 
duty  in  their  respective  wards,  but  with  large  additions  and 
improvements  made  to  them  from  time  to  time.  From  1856 
to  1887  the  general  plan  for  providing  increased  school  room 
was  by  making  additions  to  the  old  buildings,  except  in  the 
erection  of  the  Sixth  ward  school  house,  a  somewhat  impos- 
ing and  commodious  structure,  designed  to  seat  about  400 
pupils,  which,  architecturally  viewed,  was  a  marked  advance 
on  previous  buildings.  In  1 887,  under  the  direction  of  Super- 
intendent H.  G.  Winslow  and  the  building  committee  of  the 
board,  plans  were  perfected  and  the  means  provided  for 
erecting  a  portion  of  what  was  to  be,  when  completed,  a  first- 
class  ward  school  building,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
city.  This  was  finished  in  March,  1891,  and  named  the  R. 
P.  Howell  school,  and  is  a  fine,  commodious  building  and  a 
credit  to  the  city.  Again,  in  1889,  the  overcrowded  condi- 
tion of  the  schools  on  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  river 
imperatively  demanded  more  school  room  in  that  section, 
and  the  work  of  preparing  it  was  undertaken  by  the  super- 
intendent and  the  same  building  committee.  A  site  was 
purchased  on  the  corner  of  Northwestern  avenue  and  Pros- 
pect street.  Profiting  by  their  former  experience  in  school 
architecture,  plans  were  carefully  prepared,  and  the  Lincoln 
school  was  erected,  at  once  a  model  of  elegance  and  conven- 
ience, with  a  seating  capacity  of  about  400  pupils  and  eight 
teachers,  which  was  finished  and  occupied  in  April,  1891. 
These  two  new  grammar  school  buildings  being  completed, 
attention  was  turned  to  the  urgent  necessity  for  a  new  high 
school  building,  worthy  of  a  flourishing  city  of  25,000  inhab- 
itants, and  with  a  capacity  sufficient  to  accommodate  the 
school,  and  to  admit  of  its  natural  growth  ;  and  the  effort  to 
obtain  such  a  building  is  now  in  progress,  with  fair  pros- 
pects of  ultimate  success. 


RACINE   CITY    AND   HER   SCHOOIJ3.  507 

With  the  natural  growth  of  the  schools,  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  teachers,  and  the  necessary  advance  in  the 
educational  abilities  of  the  great  mass  of  the  pupils,  many 
changes,  extensions  and  improvements  have  been  made  from 
time  to  time  in  the  course  of  study,  and  in  the  organization 
and  working  of  the  schools.  As  early  as  1858,  the  principal 
of  the  high  school  was  made  the  "Superintendent  of  Instruc- 
tion," which  he  had  actually  been  from  the  first,  and  was 
given  full  charge  of  the  instructional  work  for  its  special  su- 
pervision, whilst  the  general  supervision  still  remained  in 
charge  of  the  elective  city  superintendent.  This  arrange- 
ment continued,  to  a  great  extent,  until  1881,  and  each  of  the 
able  educators,  who  Irom  time  to  time  during  about  thirty 
years  presided  over  the  high  school,  made  such  changes  in 
the  schools  as  the  altered  conditions  seemed  to  demand.  In 
May,  1881,  H.  G.  Winslow  was  appointed  superintendent  of 
city  schools,  and  at  once  devoted  his  time  and  energy  to  the 
work,  assuming  from  the  first  not  only  the  general  supervis- 
ion as  city  superintendent,  but  also  the  special  supervision 
of  the  instructional  work.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Union  col- 
lege in  New  York,  and  brought  to  the  office  a  long  and  suc- 
cessful experience  as  an  educator,  acquired  in  the  academies 
and  union  high  schools  of  western  New  York,  with  a  liberal 
education  and  a  native  taste  and  talent  for  school  work. 
Having  left  the  school-room  on  account  of  failing  health,  he 
had  been  long  recognized  in  Racine  as  a  school  man,  and 
had  done  much  service  in  and  about  the  schools.  At  this 
time  the  board  had  become  appointive  b}'  the  mayor,  with 
the  approval  of  the  city  council,  and  the  superintendent  was 
elected  by  the  board.  In  all  educational  enterprises,  per- 
manency and  well  laid  plans,  looking  to  the  future  for  reali- 
zation, in  the  proper  order  of  their  importance  and  urgency, 
form  a  very  important  factor.  No  school  or  system  of 
schools  can  be  built  up  or  materially  improved  in  one  or 
two  years,  but  thoughtful  study  and  careful  planning,  year 
after  year,  remedying  defects,  supplying  deficiencies,  and 
strengthening  weak  places  in  educational  work,  are  the 
only  sure  means  of  attaining  excellence,  and  these  require 
that  experience  and  permanency  in  the  governing  authori- 
ties which  time  alone  can  give. 

When  Superintendent  Winslow,  in  May,  1881,  assumed 
control,  there  were  40  teachers  employed,  and  the  enroll- 
ment for  the  year  was  2,388,  with  an  average  attendance  of 
1,555.     The  schools  were  badly  crowded,  the  course  of  study 


oOS  RACINE   CITY   AND   HER   SCHOOLS. 

indefinite,  incomplete  and  disjointed,  and  the  scliool  property 
in  an  unsatisfactor}^  condition.  With  the  earnest  and  in- 
telligent support  of  the  board,  whose  permanency  and  grow- 
ing experience  rendered  their  service  increasingly  valuable, 
he  was  able  gradually  to  remedy  most  of  these  evils.  In 
1883,  a  full  pamphlet  report,  with  course  of  study  in  detail, 
and  manual  of  instructions  for  teachers,  was  issued,  being 
the  first  of  the  kind  since  1858.  It  contained  about  100 
pages  of  useful  educational  and  statistical  matter,and  rendered 
valuable  assistance  in  systematizing  and  unifying  the  school 
work.  This  was  followed,  in  1891,  by  a  more  complete 
manual,  with  a  careful  revision  of  the  entire  course  of  in- 
struction, in  the  preparation  of  which  the  superintendent 
availed  himself  of  the  experience  and  advice  of  the  princi- 
pals of  the  high  school  and  of  the  several  grammar  schools, 
and  also  of  valuable  suggestions  from  other  members  of  the 
corps  of  teachers. 

During  this  administration  of  over  eleven  years,  the 
number  of  teachers  employed  had  increased  from  forty  to 
seventy-one,  the  enrollment  from  2,388  to  3,493,  the  average 
iittendance  from  1,555  to  2,739.  It  had  been  a  long  season 
of  growth,  of  development,  of  improvement  in  all  that  goes  to 
form  an  efficient  school  system.  As  now  organized  the  course 
of  study  consists  of  twelve  grades,  four  of  which  are  classed 
iis  primary  grades,  four  as  grammar  school  grades,  and  four 
.MS  high  school  grades.  Each  grade,  with  the  exception  of  the 
first,  is  intended  to  cover  one  year's  school  work,  and  the 
cases  of  failure  to  pass  grade  at  the  end  of  tlie  year,  when  the 
attendance  has  been  good,  witli  pupils  of  average  intellectual 
power,  are  very  rare.  In  the  first  grade,  the  differences  are 
greater.  Pupils  coming  from  English-speaking  families,  in 
which  reading  matter  is  abundant  and  habitually  used,  ac- 
complish the  grade  work  ver}'^  easily  within  a  year,  and  man}'^ 
of  them  in  much  less  time,  whilst  those  coming  from  fami- 
lies in  which  English  is  not  well  spoken,  or  reading  is  scarce 
and  but  little  thought  of,  often  require  much  more  time,  es- 
pecially if  the  attendance  is  much  interrupted. 

In  the  division  of  the  work,  the  aim  has  been  to  give  a 
completeness  to  the  fourth  grade  work,  thus  marking  the 
transition  to  the  grammar  school,  or,  in  cases  where  the  pupil 
leaves  school  at  that  stage,  giving  him  a  desirable  complete- 
ness in  his  knowledge,  even  though  it  might  be  quite  ele- 
nientar}'.  At  the  completion  of  the  eighth  grade,  or  gram- 
juar  school  work,  a  certificate  or   diploma  is  issued  to  the 


W)^oM::>  C2m~/%^ 


1bon»  Iboratio  Q»  Minelow, 

The  Honorable  Horatio  G.  Winslow  Avas  born  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Groton,  Massaohiisetts,  in  the  year  1820.  He  was 
directly  descended  from  Kenelm  ^Mnslow,  brother  of  Governor 
Edward  Winslow,  who  landed  in  Plymouth,  in  1629,  and  bore 
an  important  part  in  the  affairs  of  that  colony.  Mr.  Winslow 
Avas  thrown  upon  his  own  resources  at  a  very  early  age,  and 
during  the  years  of  boyhood,  from  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  was 
dependent  on  no  one  but  himself  for  support  and  education. 
With  a  courage  that  bespoke  the  capal^ilities  of  later  years,  he 
worked  his  own  way  unaided  through  Union  college.  He  be- 
gan teaching  immediately  after  receiving  his  degree  and  has 
ever  since  been  actively  interested  in  the  practical  work  of 
education. 

In  1852  Mr.  W^inslow  came  to  Racine,  and  at  once  became 
connected  Avith  the  public  schools,  at  first  indirectly,  though 
his  sympathy  soon  pointed  him  out  as  a  leader,  and  he  AAas  ap- 
pointed as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  becoming  clerk 
thereof. 

From  this  time  on  Mr.  WinsloA\''s  influence  has  been  con- 
stant and  helpful  to  the  Racine  schools.  A  decision  of  the 
supreme  court  placed  his  residence  outside  the  city  for  a  sliort 
time,  but  subsequently  he  again  became  a  resident,  and  resumed 
his  connection  Avith  educational  affairs  of  the  city.  In  1874  he 
AA'as  appointed  regent  of  the  university.  Since  1866  he  has 
been  a  trustee  of  Racine  college.  From  1881  till  September, 
1892,  he  has  held  the  honored  position  of  superintendent 
of  Racine  public  schools.  Before  this  time  the  office  AA'as  held 
by  those  who  performed  its  services  as  a  duty  incidental  to 
school  commissionership  or  that  of  principal  of  the  high  school. 

It  is  due  to  Mr.  WinsloAV  to  attribute  to  his  faithful  and 
untiring  devotion,  and  to  his  able  direction  and  clear  insight 
of  the  true  mission  of  the  public  school,  the  great  progress  made 
by  the  Racine  schools  for  ten  years,  in  systematization,  or- 
ganization and  improvement  of  the  course  of  instruction.  The 
excellent  standing  of  the  schools  at  the  present  day  is  evidence 
of  his  AA'ise  labor  and  industry,  sustained  by  an  intelligent 
board  of  commissioners,  able  to  appreciate  and  value  the  ser- 
vices of  a  capable  and  cultivated  leader. 

W.  E.  A. 


RACINE   CITY    AND   HER   SCHOOLS.  509 

pupil,  signed  by  his  principal,  and  by  the  superintendent, 
certifying  to  that  coinpletion,  and  admitting  him  to  the  high 
school  at  an}'  time  within  two  years  from  its  issue,  without 
examination.  At  the  completion  of  the  twelfth  grade,  or 
high  school  course,  a  formal  diploma  is  issued,  signed  by  the 
principal,  the  superintendent,  and  the  president  and  clerk  of 
the  board  of  education,  and  this  diplolna  admits  its  recipient 
to  the  proper  courses  in  the  Wisconsin  university  or  in  Beloit 
college  without  examination. 

There  are  now  one  high  school  and  eight  grammar 
schools  in  the  city  system  of  schools,  each  grammar  school 
having  four  primary  and  four  grammar  grades.  The  effort 
has  been  to  increase  the  extent  and  completeness  of  the 
work  in  the  grammar  schools,  as  so  many  of  the  pupils  never 
go  farther  in  school  work. 

To  this  end  physiology  and  hygiene  are  taught  in  all 
grades  from  the  first.  Paul  Bert's  "First  Steps  in  Science,"" 
bookkeeping,  and  history  of  the  United  States  are  taught  in 
all  grammar  school  grades,  and  the  work  has  been  much 
strengthened  in  language,  numbers  and  geography.  Thfr 
high  school  course  has  also  been  improved  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  chemistry,  with  a  laboratory  in  which  individual 
work  is  done  by  each  pupil ;  botany,  with  the  analysis  of 
plants  and  preparation  of  specimens;  and  astronomy,  with  a 
study  of  constellations.  The  high  school  numbers  164 
pupils,  with  five  teachers. 

In  June,  1881,  Mr.  A.  R.  Sprague,  a  graduate  of  Beloit 
college,  and  a  teacher  of  successful  experience  in  the  schools 
of  Wisconsin,  was  appointed  principal  of  Racine  high  school, 
which  position  he  held  for  eight  years  with  much  credit,  re- 
signing it  in  June,  1889,  to  accept  a  place  in  the  Milwaukee 
high  school.  On  the  26th  of  July,  1889,  Mr.  A.  J.  Volland, 
a  graduate  of  the  Michigan  university,  and  a  man  of  superior 
attainments  and  educational  abilities,  was  called  from  the 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  high  school,  and  elected  principal 
of  the  Racine  high  school,  which  position  he  still  fills  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  all  parties ;  and  if  a  suitable  building 
shall  be  erected  in  the  near  future,  and  furnished  with  the 
proper  appliances  for  a  first-class  high  school  as  now  con- 
ducted. Principal  Volland  will  surely  build  up  a  school  in 
every  way  worthy  of  the  city  of  Racine. 

On  the  r2th  of  August,  1892,  Superintendent  H.  G. 
Winslow  presented  his  resignation,  to  take  effect  at  the  earli- 
est convenience  of  the  board  of  education.     On  the  15th  of 


510  RACINE   CITY   AND   HER   SCHOOLS. 

August  the  resignation  was  accepted,  and  on  motion  of  Com- 
missioner Driver,  the  following  resolution  was  adopted: 

"In  view  of  the  fact  that  Superintendent  Winslow,  who  has 
served  so  long  as  the  head  of  our  schools,  has  expressed  his 
fixed  purpose  not  to  again  be  a  candidate  for  re-election  to  this 
position,  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  we,  members  of  the  school  board  of  the  city 
of  Racine,  desire  hereby  to  express  our  great  respect  and  esteem  for 
him  as  a  man,  and  to  place  upon  record  our  commendation  of 
his  long  and  faithful  service  in  behalf  of  the  schools  of  the  city, 
covering  as  it  does  a  period  of  more  than  eleven  years,  during 
which  time  he  has  brought  the  schools  from  a  semi-chaotic  con- 
dition to  their  present  high  grade ;  and  we  feel  assured  that 
whosoever  may  be  his  successor  in  office,  he  will  find  nothing  to 
undo,  but  may  safel}'  build  upon  the  work  already  done,  as  a 
sure  foundation  for  further  advancement.  While  regretting  the 
necessity  of  a  change,  we  congratulate  the  retiring  superintend- 
ent on  having  attained  so  large  a  measure  of  success,  and  wish 
for  him  much  of  pleasure  and  satisfaction  in  whatever  his  work 
may  hereafter  be." 

On  the  1st  of  September,  Mr.  O.  C.  Seelye,  having  been 
elected  thereto  by  the  board  of  education,  entered  upon  the 
cares  and  duties  of  t-he  superintendency.  Superintendent 
Seelye  is  a  graduate  from  the  university  of  Michigan,  and 
has  had  much  experience,  both  as  principal  and  as  superin- 
tendent of  prominent  schools  in  cities  in  Michigan,  and  thus 
brings  to  his  work  that  liberal  education,  and  educational  ex- 
perience, from  which  excellent  results  may  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected. 

H.  G.  Winslow. 


The  Evolution  of  the  Free  School  at  Kenosha, 
Wisconsin. 


Southport  was  the  original  name  of  the  locahty  where 
first  in  Wisconsin  was  tried  the  experiment  of  free  education 
by  the  state — now  incorporated  as  a  city  known  as  Kenosha, 
six  miles  north  of  the  Illinois  line  and  fifty-nine  miles  north 
of  Chicago,  on  the  west  shore  of  Lake  ^lichigan.  It  is  by 
general  consent  entitled  to  the  credit  of  originating  and  per- 
fecting the  Wisconsin  school  system. 

Its  first  settlement  was  in  1835,  and  it  was  incorporated 
as  a  village  in  1841 ;  between  these  dates  schools  had  been 
voluntarily  kept  and  maintained  in  such  method  as  was 
practicable  in  a  new  country.  Before  the  confirmation  of 
land  titles  by  the  United  States  in  1839,  no  means  of  acquir- 
ing a  site  in  any  other  way  than  by  permit  from  those  hold- 
ing pre-emptions  and  occupying  under  settler's  law  was  pos- 
sible ;  and  we  find  the  district,  whose  record  is  to  be  briefly 
sketched,  occupying  a  school  house  built  of  round  logs, 
which  stood  upon  a  portion  of  what  was  afterwards  platted 
as  block  30,  on  the  east  side  of  Main  street,  in  the  city  of 
Kenosha.  In  1839,  David  Crosit,  one  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  town  site,  filed  a  plat  in  which  "  lot  2,  block  58,  is 
given  to  the  school  district  in  which  it  lies  for  the  use  of 
common  schools,  and  may  be  sold  by  the  trustees  of  the  dis- 
trict for  that  use ;"  and  immediately  thereafter  the  school 
authorities  took  possession  and  built  thereon  a  plain,  one- 
story  wooden  structure,  with  windows  on  the  sides  and  a 
door  in  front,  in  which  school  was  kept  until  1845. 

Before  bringing  into  notice  the  part  taken  by  the  early 
settlers  and  citizens  in  this  grand  educational  movement,  it 
will  be  well  to  bring  to  view  by  a  brief  statement  the  char- 
acter of  the  unbroken  prairie  waste  which  met  the  eye  of  the 
pioneer  on  landing,  as  well  as  the  character  and  make-up  of 
the  heterogeneous  swarm  of  immigrants  which  the  steamboats 
from  Buffalo  daily  debarked  at  the  only  wharf  pier  on  Lake 
Michigan — a  pier  projected  by  the  villagers  of  Southport  and 
sarcastically  dubbed  "the  St.  Joe  Bridge"  by  its  envious 

5n 


512      THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA. 

rivals.  The  bulk  of  these  emigrants  desiring  to  take  up 
land,  having  heard  that  Illinois  was  burdened  with  a  canal 
debt,  and  dreading  the  timber  country  to  the  north,  in  very 
large  numbers  came  to  the  most  southerly  port  in  Wiscon- 
sin, by  this  pier  avoiding  lighterage.  The  lower  tier  of  coun- 
ties in  Wisconsin  was  settled  by  a  superior  class  of  men  long 
before  the  northern  tier  in  Illinois  was  occupied.  The  very 
best  class  of  farmers  who,  from  New  England  and  New  York, 
filled  up  the  counties  of  Racine,  Walworth  and  Rock,  had, 
in  the  short  space  of  six  years,  from  1836  to  1842,  not  only 
broken  and  fenced  the  greater  portion  of  the  lands,  but  on 
them  had  built  dwellings,  churches  and  school  houses,  all 
new  and  bearing  the  evidences  of  thrift  and  prosperity. 

On  the  prairies  and  oak  openings  of  this  magnificently 
endowed  agricultural  region  was  set  down  a  generation  of 
men  and  women — young,  confident  and  hopeful — intending 
to  remain  there  and  found  a  state  by  first  founding  homes, 
and  establishing  in  their  ardent  perception  a  far  better  civil- 
ization than  that  which  they  had  left  a  thousand  miles 
behind.  Some  came  with  a  little  capital,  others  with  barely 
enough  to  enter  forty  acres  of  land,  and  others  again  with 
nothing  but  an  honest  determination  to  win  a  home.  Some 
were  educated  people  from  New  York,  Boston  and  other 
American  cities,  others  were  emigrants  from  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland ;  the  German  population,  now  so  dominant, 
having  not  yet  appeared. 

WHO   SETTLED   THE   COUNTRY   DISTRICTS? 

Farmers  from  Western  New  York,  Ohio  and  Pennsyl- 
vania, with  a  sprinkling  from  the  Southern  states  north  of 
Tennessee,  were  the  people  who  with  unexampled  rapidity 
took  up  and  occupied  the  prairie  lands,  which  at  this  point 
alone  lay  close  to  the  lake  shore.  To  reach  these  lands  else- 
where, it  was  necessary  to  travel  inland,  from  any  point  north 
of  the  north  line  of  Kenosha  county,  from  five  to  fifty  miles 
through  a  heavily  wooded  country.  In  this  prairie  region, 
improvements,  consisting  of  new  buildings,  fences,  churches 
and  school-houses,  were  so  rapidly  and  simultaneously  con- 
structed as  to  give  the  wilderness  the  appearance  of  a  long 
settled  region.  The  style  of  building  was  largely  after  the 
Eastern  pattern,  and  fully  equal  to  the  standard  of  what  was 
proper  in  the  region  from  which  the  settlers  came  ;  one  of  the 
resulting  creations  being  typically  known  as  "the  little  red 
school  house,"  many  of  which  even  now  meet  the  eye  of  the 
traveler  at  the  road  crossings. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA.      513 
COUNTRY  SCHOOLS. 

Up  to  1849  the  country  people  outside  of  the  villages 
had  spontaneously  organized  school  districts,  which  were 
supported  by  voluntary  contributions,  or  by  the  practice  of 
"boarding  around,"  as  it  was  called.  These  districts  were 
only  tacitly  recognized  as  such  by  the  law,  and  were  not  em- 
powered to  levy  taxes  for  any  school  purpose,  unless  specially 
authorized  by  the  territorial  legislature.  An  examination  of 
the  laws  of  1844  shows  at  least  five  applications  for  permission 
to  levy  such  taxes,  and  power  for  that  purpose  granted  ;  and 
such  applications  continued  to  be  made  until  February,  1848, 
when  the  state  constitution  made  provision  for  free  public 
schools. 

School  District  No.  1,  of  South  port,  at  the  time  the  vil- 
lage was  incorporated,  differed  little  as  to  government  from 
the  other  school  districts  of  the  territory ;  it  was  managed  by 
the  district  meeting,  called  as  emergency  required,  and  its 
decisions  were  carried  into  effect  by  directors  and  a  clerk. 
Each  school  district  being  practically  independent,  down  to 
the  time  of  the  codification  of  the  school  laws,  was  in  most 
respects  "a  law  unto  itself,"  except  as  it  found  it  necessary  to 
ask  authority  from  the  legislature  for  extraordinary  means 
to  carry  on  the  business  of  education.  Accordingly,  we  find 
"District  No.  ] ,  in  the  town  of  Southport,"  obtaining  legisla- 
tive authority  for  the  establishment  of  free  schools  in  the 
corporate  limits  of  the  village  of  Southport,  subject  to  an 
affirmative  vote  of  the  people  (Private  statutes  1845, chapter 
33) ;  and  again,  "District  No.  2,  Southport,"  which  included 
a  portion  of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Kenosha  public  school 
district,  applying  for  authority  to  levy  a  tax.  (Local  statutes 
1847,  chapter  127.)  In  still  another  case  District  No.  1, 
Southport,  obtained  permission  to  renew  a  tax  warrant  which 
had  expired.  (Laws  1848,  chapter  28.)  And  similar  special 
legislation  was  enacted  for  various  purposes,  applicable  to 
tlie  needs  of  other  districts  in  the  southern  part  of  the  terri- 
tory of  Wisconsin,  the  northern  part  not  being  yet  occupied 
by  settlers,  to  any  great  extent. 

VILLAGE   SCHOOLS. 

Among  such  a  mass  of  immigrants  were  found  a  con- 
siderable number  of  intelligent  people — professional  men, 
mechanics  and  others — who  could  find  more  ready  occupa- 
tion and  employment  in  building  up  the  then  thriving  vil- 
lage of  Southport  than  in  cultivating  the  soil,  or  acquiring 


514      THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA. 

land  for  any  other  purpose  than  speculation.  They  were 
mostly  young  men  with  families,  often  without  means  ;  but, 
living  within  easy  distance  from  each  other,  they  could  be 
counted  on  from  their  antecedents  to  provide  good  schools 
for  the  instruction  of  their  children,  and  also  to  give  the  town 
a  high  character  for  advantage  in  securing  an  education. 
Thus  it  happened  that  District  No.  1,  Southport,  from  its 
foundation  until  now,  has  always  maintained  its  separate  or- 
ganization, separate  local  superintendcy  and  specific  rules ; 
and  it  was  thus  admirably  situated  to  lead  the  column  ag- 
gressively in  behalf  of  free  education. 

As  has  been  remarked,  most  of  these  villagers  had  been 
well  educated  in  their  Eastern  homes ;  to  many  of  them  such 
education  was  their  sole  capital.  They  had  no  sooner  landed 
than  they  met  kindred  spirits,  enthusiastic  to  make  South- 
port  society  the  expression  of  the  best  literary  culture  to  be 
found  on  the  western  shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  deter- 
mined to  eclipse,  in  that  regard  their  rival  to  the  north, 
which  had  secured  the  material  advantage  of  being  the 
county  seat.  Before  the  incorporation  of  the  village  in  1841 
they  had  established  a  lyceum  or  debating  club,  at  which 
all  the  contested  moral,  political  and  social  issues  were  duly 
discussed;  and,  following  out  the  New  England  plan,  had 
within  two  years  more  founded  the  Southport  academy,  ap- 
pointing as  principal  Louis  P.  Harvey,  afterwards  governor 
of  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  This  academy,  with  the  academ- 
ies at  Salem,Wilmot  and  Bristol,  all  in  Kenosha  county,  were 
intendiBd  to  supplement  the  district  schools  in  a  manner  sim- 
ilar to  the  high  "school  of  the  present  system.  Of  course, 
after  the  founding  and  establishment  of  the  free  high  school, 
and  the  division  into  class  grades  subsequently  introduced, 
these  academies  had  no  cause  to  exist,  or  could  not 
exist  in  competition,  and  have  accordingly  disappeared  as 
educational  agencies. 

THE   LEADING   PROMOTERS. 

Who,  then,  were  the  principal  promoters  of  this  scheme 
to  advance  education  ?  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this 
agitation  was  begun  at  least  eight  years  before  the  admission 
of  the  territory  as  a  state ;  so  that  it  was  largely  enthusiasm 
in  the  cause,  aided  by  some  quite  fortunate  circumstances, 
w^hich  led  to  the  success  of  their  plans.  One  of  these  cir- 
cumstances was,  that  the  chief  promoter.  Colonel  M.  Frank, 
had,  in  the  year  1840,  been  co-editor  with  C.  Lapham  Sholes, 


KEXOSHA   HIGH  SCHOOL. 


516      THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA. 

the  proprietor  of  the  South  port  Telegraph,  then  perhaps  the^ 
most  influential  newspaper  in  Southern  Wisconsin  ;  and  that 
during  his  occupancy  of  the  editorial  chair,  and  subsequently, 
the  columns  of  that  paper  teemed  with  articles  written  by 
himself  and  his  coadjutors  in  favor  not  only  of  free  common 
schools,  but  of  taxation  by  the  state  for  their  support.  This 
earnest  advocacy,  and  the  high  standing  in  the  community 
of  those  contemporaries  who  were  outspoken  in  support  of 
the  prime  mover,  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of 
the  voters,  so  that  they  were  ready  to  pass  upon  the  initial 
experiment  when  it  should  be  offered  them  by  legislative 
action. 

The  following  brief  notices  of  individuals  more  or  less 
active  and  influential  in  obtaining  the  legislation  authoriz- 
ing the  establishment  of  the  free  school  in  Southport,  and 
the  raising  of  the  money  for  its  support  from  the  taxable 
property  of  the  district,  are  given  in  this  connection  as  part  of 
the  school  history.  Not  to  speak  particularly  of  M.  Frank, 
whose  biography  has  been  recently  published,  and  whose 
immediate  connection  with  the  scheme  has  been  heretofore 
enlarged  upon,  and  is  now  recorded  in  the  archives  of  the 
historical  society  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  may  be  men- 
tioned the  following : 

Charles  Durkee,  who  came  to  Southport  from  Verniont 
in  1836,  and  who,  for  his  public  spirit  and  popularity,  was 
afterwards  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  Congress,  and  subse- 
quently by  the  legislature  to  the  senate,  and  by  President 
Johnson  appointed  governor  of  Utah  Territory,  was  an  out- 
spoken advocate  of  free  schools. 

Reuben  H.  Deming,  who  also  hailed  from  Vermont, 
was  a  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
b}'  reason  of  his  itinerant  and  largely  gratuitous  labors  as 
such  in  the  country,  and  his  ready  speech  and  frank  address, 
had  acquired  considerable  local  popularity.  He  advocated 
the  support  of  free  schools  by  taxes  to  be  raised  upon  the 
"  grand  list,"  as  he  called  it,  by  which  he  doubtless  meant 
the  general  village  roll  instead  of  a  special  district  roll,  as 
was  then  the  practice. 

John  B.  Jilson,  who  came  to  the  territory  from  the  state 
of  New  York,  was  a  lawyer  by  profession,  who  afterwards 
attained  the  dignity  of  county  judge.  He  was  an  excellent 
writer  and  fair  speaker,  and  was  ever  ready  to  advocate  the 
adoption  of  the  free  school  in  Southport,  and  afterwards  in 
the  state  at  large,  and  upon  its  adoption  to  give  eflicient  aid 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA.      517 

in  the  actual  administration  and  practical  working  of  the 
system. 

Theodore  Newell,  a  lumber  merchant  then  in  business 
at  Southpoi-t,  afterwards  at  Muskegon,  Michigan,  one  of  the 
first  to  supply  building  material  for  the  village  and  sur- 
rounding country,  was  a  rather  retired  and  tactiturn  man, 
but  one  whose  influence  gave  great  weight  to  the  project. 

Chauncey  Davis,  then  of  Southport,  a  working  carpen- 
ter, afterwards  a  leading  lumberman  and  citizen  of  Muske- 
gon, was  another  stanch  adherent  of  the  movement  to  make 
schools  free.  The  "  Major,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was 
a  forcible  speaker,  and  his  influence  with  the  working- 
men,  of  whom  there  were  a  large  number,  was  greatly  effec- 
tive. 

C.  Latham  Sholes,  co-editor  of  the  Telegraph,  was  also 
in  hearty  accord  with  the  movement,  as  was  his  brother,  C. 
C.  Sholes,  who  for  some  time  was  prominent  in  territorial 
affairs,  and  afterwards  connected  editorially  with  the  Green 
Bay  Advocate  and  the  American  Freeman,  of  Waukesha. 
The  latter  served  no  less  than  four  terms,  after  the  adoption 
of  the  system,  as  mayor  of  the  city  of  Kenosha. 

Rev.  Martin  Kundig,  the  pari.sh  priest  of  St.  Mark's 
Catholic  church,  was  also  known  as  a  sympathizer  with  all 
projects  to  advance  education.  After  the  passage  of  the  act 
in  1845,  giving  the  school  district  power  to  enlarge  their 
school  accommodations,  a  district  school  was  established  by 
arrangement  with  the  school  board  in  the  basement  of  this 
church.  There  being  a  considerable  voting  population  of 
Irish  birth  or  descent,  of  which  nationality  his  congregation 
was  composed,  Father  Kundig's  influence  in  favor  of  schools 
was  another  most  fortunate  circumstance,  leading  up  to 
eventual  success. 

Charles  Clement,  who  came  to  the  territorj^  from  Massa- 
chusetts, and  who  lived  in  Southport  long  enough  to  see  the 
free  school  triumphantly  successful,  a  brilliant  speaker  and 
a  writer  of  no  mean  ability,  who  afterwards  succeeded  Sholes 
and  Frank  in  the  proprietorship  of  the  Telegraph,  gave  the 
cause  great  impetus  in  its  inception,  and  was  its  able  de- 
fender until  it  gained  popular  approval. 

Warren  Chase,  a  member  of  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion which  formulated  the  provision  in  that  instrument 
establishing  free,  unsectarian  schools  for  the  new  state,  was 
also  well  known  as  a  ready  and  powerful  advocate  of  the 
extension  of  the  Southport  experiment  under  state   super- 


518      THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA, 

vision,  and  assisted  to  set  in  motion  the  agitation    which 
preceded  its  local  trial. 

Thomas  Howland,  an  old  pioneer,  coming  to  Southport 
from  Indiana,  was  a  man  who  always  took  a  lively  interest 
in  the  school  question,  although  living  in  the  outskirts  of 
the  district.  His  sons  were  educated  in  the  school  which  he 
helped  to  establish,  and  one  of  them  afterwards  was  elected 
to  the  legislature.  A  plain  farmer,  he  was  determined  his 
children  should  not  lack  the  advantages  of  a  good  school,  of 
which  he  had  of  necessity  been  deprived. 

Hays  McKinley,  a  physician  from  Western  New  York, 
was  also  a  leading  champion  of  free  schools.  After  the 
adoption  of  free  education  by  the  state  had  been  secured, 
and  upon  the  death  of  C.  C.  Sholes,  he  became  editor  of  the 
Kenosha  Telegraph  and  continued  his  support  of  the  policy 
until  his  death,  a  few  years  ago.  Others  might  be  named, 
but  they  were  chiefly  men  whose  opinions  and  views  were 
largely  controlled  by  these  promoters.  At  the  first  there 
were  hardly  a  dozen  persons  who  might  be  said  to  be  fully 
in  favor  of  free  schools,  and  of  taxation  by  the  state  for 
their  support. 

It  was  here  that  by  persistent  advocacy  of  the  policy. 
Col.  Frank — who  doubtless  foresaw  the  conditions  which 
would  arise  when  the  future  state  should  receive  at  the  hands 
of  the  United  States  government  her  dower  in  the  grant  of 
the  sixteenth  section  of  the  lands  of  every  township,  and  the 
other  liberal  grants  made  to  the  new  states  On  their  admis- 
sion into  the  Union,  and  the  necessity  for  a  practical  demon- 
stration of  adaptability  on  a  small  scale  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  organic  law — became  the  leading  spirit  in  the 
agitation  then  commenced,  which  went  on  till  1845,  when 
the  Southport  school  district  secured  the  passage  of  the  law 
which  gave  it  full  scope  to  try  the  experiment. 

LEGISLATION, 

The  following  extract  from  a  published  life  of  the  ad- 
mitted founder  of  the  present  school  system  shows  how  public 
sentiment  favorable  to  its  trial  was  secrued  : 

' '  Meetings  were  frequently  held  for  the  discussion  of  the 
free  school  question.  Col.  Frank,  being  then  a  member  of 
the  territorial  legislature,  in  1843  introduced  the  first  bill  for 
the  establishment  of  free  schools  in  AVisconsin.  It  met  with  no 
favorable  response,  and  by  most  of  the  members  was  declared 
impracticable.     In  1845  he  secured  the  passage  of  a  law  author- 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA.      519 

izing  the  establishment  of  free  schools  in  the  corporate  limits  of 
the  village  of  Southport  (Kenosha).  This  law  was  passed  with 
the  proviso  that  it  be  submitted  to,  and  be  accepted  by,  a 
majority  of  the  legal  voters  of  the  town  before  taking  effect. 
At  the  fii"st  meeting  for  voting  on  the  acceptance  of  the  law,  the 
excitement  prevented  voting  and  the  meeting  broke  up  in  con- 
fusion. The  injustice  of  taxing  those  who  had  no  children  to 
educate,  to  pay  for  the  education  of  their  neighbors'  children, 
was  so  strongly  pressed  that  poor  men,  unable  to  pay  for  the 
schooling  of  their  own  children,  thought  such  a  law  unreason- 
able. At  a  second  meeting,  the  law  Avas  approved  and  accepted. 
This  system,  which  was  at  first  much  opposed,  became  popular 
Avhen  the  people  came  to  understand  that  education  was  public 
property  and  essential  to  good  government." 

THE    DISTRICT    PROPERTY. 

Before  the  land  sale  and  the  confirmation  of  titles  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States,  in  1839,  the  district  had 
built  a  log  school  house  on  land  situated  on  the  east  side  of 
Main  street,  afterwards  platted  as  lot  6,  block  30 ;  but  having 
no  title  to  the  land  on  which  it  stood,  it  availed  itself  of  the 
gift,  by  the  proprietors  of  the  village,  of  lot  2  in  block  58. 
This  lot  Avas  given  "  to  the  school  district  in  which  it  lies  for 
the  use  of  common  schools,  and  may  be  sold  by  the  trustees 
of  the  district  for  that  use."  The  district  proceeded  to  erect 
thereon  a  frame  school  house  of  one  story,  with  windows  on 
the  sides  and  rear,  and  door  in  front.  The  log  school  house 
was  then  abandoned  ;  it  stood,  however,  till  the  year  1843, 
occupied  as  a  cooper's  shop ;  it  was  then,  by  the  march  of 
improvement  and  growth  of  the  village,  torn  down  to  give 
place  for  a  time  to  a  pretentious  two-story,  balloon-frame, 
wooden  store  building. 

In  this  way  the  first  school  building  served  its  purpose 
and  disappeared,  to  be  succeeded  by  the  second  structure, 
erected  on  the  district  lot,  fronting  the  public  park,  where  it 
remained  and  school  was  kept  in  it  till,  in  1845,  it  was  sold 
to  Charles  Clement,  who  converted  it  into  a  two-story  dwell- 
ing house.  It  w^as  subsequently,  with  the  lot,  sold  to  Saint 
Matthew's  Protestant  Episcopal  church;  and  through  mesne 
conveyances  the  building,  removed  from  its  original  site,  has 
now  become  the  property  of  the  Kenosha  branch  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  Population  having 
increased  and  children  needing  education  having  multiplied 
beyond  the  capacity  of  the  frame  school  building,  upon  the 
acceptance  of  the  local  school  law  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 


520   THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA. 

district,  the  question  arose  :  How  shall  the  demand  for  school 
accommodation  be  met,  the  law  be  carried  out,  and  a  suita- 
ble place  had  in  which  to  try  the  experiment  ?  It  would  be 
necessary  to  erect  a  new,  larger  and  better  building,  the 
school  lot  was  small,  and  some  place  must  serve  till  the  new 
.accommodations  were  secured.  It  was  proposed  to  sell  the 
valuable  lot  owned  by  the  district  and  remove  to  a  location 
four  or  five  blocks  west,  the  money  realized  to  apply  on  the 
cost  of  the  new  structure. 

At  this  juncture,  Sereno  Fisk,  another  devoted  friend  of 
the  school,  came  forward  with  a  proposition  to  give  the  south- 
west quarter  of  block  38,  in  the  first  w^ard  of  the  village,  for 
the  site  of  the  proposed  new  school  building,  if  the  district 
would  erect  the  building  on  it.  A  school  meeting  to  decide 
upon  the  policy  of  selling  the  school  house  lot  was  held,  and 
the  project  strongly  opposed.  Some  said  that  the  lot  owned 
by  the  district  was  better  in  all  respects,  save  area,  than  the 
one  offered,  and  that  it  was  moving  away  from  the  popula- 
tion to  be  accommodated.  Others  averred  that  it  was  a  sop 
to  the  Irish  population,  who  had  homes  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
proflered  lot.  Some  of  the  near  residents  voted  to  sell  in 
order  to  get  rid  of  the  nuisance  of  school  children  playing  in 
the  park ;  and  others,  because  the  highway,  much  traveled, 
which  lay  between,  endangered  the  lives  of  scholars.  So 
amid  this  conflict,  the  vote  to  sell  was  carried,  the  new  lot 
occupied  and  planted  with  elm  trees,  now  nearly  two  feet  in 
diameter,  and  the  brick  building  commenced,  which  was  to  be 
occupied  until  1890,  and  was  to  serve  as  the  nucleus  around 
which,  by  subsequent  purchases,  the  school  grounds  were  to 
be  in  the  future  enlarged. 

Such  was  the  advance  made  by  the  successful  operation 
of  the  school  that  in  a  short  time  increased  room  became  nec- 
essary for  the  accommodation  of  the  primary  grades  of 
scholars.  In  1847  the  district  purchased  the  northwest  quar- 
ter of  block  38,  adjoining  its  property  on  the  north ;  and  on 
this  acquisition  proceeded  to  erect  a  two-story  brick  building, 
substantial,  but  of  plain  design,  for  the  supplying  of  that  want. 
This  structure,  being  in  the  way  of  the  erection  of  the  present 
high  school  building,  was,  with  the  first  building  erected  in 
1845,  torn  down  and  removed  in  1889  to  give  place  to  the 
present  imposing  structure.  Eventually  the  district  pur- 
chased the  northeast  quarter  of  block  38,  and  recently,  the 
southeast  quarter  of  the  block,  except  a  small  lot  in  the  south- 
east corner,  wHich  will  M'ithout  doubt  be  acquired  in  time. 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA.      521 

This  furnishes  a  block  of  land  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine 
feet  north  and  south,  by  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet 
east  and  west,  as  the  site  of  the  present  high  school  building 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $50,000,  which  has  been  paid  by  tax  levy 

RESULTS    OF    THE    EXPERIMENT. 

The  foundation  having  thus  been  laid  after  fierce  oppo- 
sition, in  1845  the  work  of  classification  and  organization 
was  immediately  commenced,  and  its  subsequent  administra- 
tion  under  able  principals  perfected.  It  was  thus  left  for 
School  District  1,  Southport,  to  formulate  a  pattern  course  of 
study  and,  by  the  stimulus  of  liberal  salaries  to  the  best  prin- 
cipals they  could  find,  to  attract  to  its  free  school  scholars 
from  all  the  country  round,  scholars  living  outside  the  bounds 
of  the  district  being  admitted  by  payment  of  a  small  tuition 
fee.  It  soon  acquired  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  thor- 
oughly organized  school  in  the  West,  so  much  so,  that  in  a 
few  years  after  the  occupation  of  the  first  brick  building,  the 
school  was  visited  by  committees  from  Racine,  Chicago  and 
other  cities,  who  came  to  take  note  of  its  methods  and  man- 
agement, and  to  see  a  school  in  practical  operation  that  was 
of  that  period  not  only  a  free  school,  but  the  best  school,  occu- 
pying the  best  school  building,  in  the  territory  of  Wisconsin. 

Having  seen,  these  visitors  returned  to  devise  for  their 
own  cities  and  localities  like,  perhaps  improved,  rules,  and  as 
good  or  better  buildings.  If  they  had  stopped  there,  the  dis- 
trict w^ould  have  been  content;  as  it  was,  they  coaxed  away 
the  best  principals  by  offers  of  increased  salary,  and  as  fast 
as  pupils  were  turned  out,  qualified  to  teach  and  "brought 
up  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,"  they  secured  their  services,  and 
turned  their  scholarly  acquirements  to  account  in  their  own 
work  of  educational  rivalry. 

The  success  of  the  experiment  of  the  Southport  district 
from  ]  845  to  the  admission  of  Wisconsin  as  a  state  largely 
influenced,  without  doubt,  the  framers  of  the  constitution  to 
insert  in  that  instrument  the  provision  for  free  schools,  and 
contributed  to  the  selection  of  the  man  to  put  in  shape  and 
formulate  the  first  free  school  code  of  general  application  for 
the  state. 

STATE   FREE  SCHOOLS. 

i\.  powerful  inducement  to  the  adoption  of  the  free  school 
system  by  the  state  was  the  condition  annexed  to  the  Fed'eral 
grant  of  lands  for  the  support  of  common  schools,  which 
made  it  necessary  for  the  state,  as  trustee,  to  provide  agencies 


522   THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA, 

not  only  for  the  management  of  the  fund  to  arise  from  their  sale, 
but  also  for  its  distribution.  This  could  be  well  done  in  no 
other  way  than  by  creating  a  general  fund  which,  while  caus- 
ing its  distribution  to  operate  as  a  free  gift  to  education,  should 
make  its  reception  conditional  upon  the  raising  of  local  taxes 
by  local  agencies  to  supplement  the  gift — in  this  way  offering 
a  stimulant  and  a  direct  inducement  to  make  the  levy. 

When  it  was  determined  by  the  state  legislature  to  re- 
vise the  statutes  as  they  existed  in  1848,  and  three  commis- 
sioners were  elected  on  joint  ballot  to  make  the  revision,  Col- 
onel Frank,  the  prime  mover  and  originator  of  the  agitation 
for  free  schools  in  1843  which  had  resulted  in  its  adoption  in 
one  locality  in  the  state,  was  one  of  the  number  chosen,  and 
after  hesitation  he  accepted  the  position.  To  him  was  as- 
signed the  work  of  arranging  a  free  school  code  to  conform  to 
and  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  constitution  already  re- 
ferred to. 

The  commissioners  submitted  their  report  to  the  legis- 
lature in  January,  1849,  and  its  adoption  was  opposed  on  the 
ground  that  the  commissioners  were  appointed  to  revise  ex- 
isting laws,  and  not  to  propose  and  recommend  the  passage  of 
new  ones.  But  as  each  separate  school  district  had  up  to  that 
time  its  own  independent  constitution  or  charter,  and  such 
laws  as  existed  were  not  uniform  in  application,  it  was  im- 
possible to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  constitution. 
Section  3,  Article  10,  except  by  new  recommendations  and  ad- 
ditional provisions.  The  result  was  that,  after  some  attempts 
to  make  a  few  unimportant  changes,  the  report  was  adopted, 
and,  at  the  subsequent  general  election  a  state  superintendent 
having  been  elected,  the  school  districts  throughout  the  state 
were  re-organized.  The  laws  were  frequently  amended  previ- 
ous to  the  revision  of  the  statutes  in  1858,  but  in  that  revision 
they  were  again  codified.  Since  that  time  various  alterations 
of  the  school  laws  have  been  made  (notably  one  in  1863, 
chapter  155),  and  again  by  the  revised  statutes  of  1878.  In 
that  revision  the  subject  of  common  schools  is  elaborately 
treated  by  chapter  27,  and  an  alternate  scheme  of  township, 
rather  than  district  government  made  optional  with  the 
towns — a  scheme  which  was  not  adopted  in  Kenoslia  county, 
which  has  adhered  to  its  original  constitution  and  charter, 
except  as  modified  by  the  general  law  of  the  state. 

Thus  the  grand  scheme  of  free  education  by  the  state, 
originating  in  the  minds  of  a  few,  became  widely  diffused ; 
and  the  educational  edifice,  whose  foundations  were  laid  with 


THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  FREE  SCHOOL  AT  KENOSHA.      523 

fear  and  trembling  in  the  Southport  school  district  by  the 
fathers  in  1843,  through  the  natural  evolution  of  popular 
sentiment  set  in  motion  by  their  enthusiastic  advocacy  of  it 
in  the  days  when  it  was  a  despised  thing,  went  up  step  by 
step,  until  its  top  stone  was  laid  in  triumph  by  its  friends,  at 
the  time  when  state  sanction  and  approval  crowned  the  work, 
and  assured  its  permanency. 

S.  Y.  Brande. 


The  Janesville  Public  Schools. 


A  silence  rests  upon  the  early  history  of  the  Rock  river 
valley,  which  the  antiquarian  vainly  strives  to  penetrate. 
The  past  years  roll  by  in  ghostly  procession,  but  the  shadows 
beyond  them  are  voiceless.  No  haunting  shade  of  a  Wapello 
or  Keokuk  returns  from  the  land  beyond  the  sunset  to  tell 
us  of  the  tragic  life  dramas  once  enacted  here.  We  have 
only  a  few  aboriginal  traditions,  and  the  musical  nomencla- 
ture once  applied  to  adjacent  localities  will  ere  long  sink 
into  oblivion.  Soon  only  the  student  of  ancient  archives 
will  remember  the  name  given  by  the  Winnebagoes  to  our, 
beautiful  river,  "  AVe-ra-sha-na-gra,  the  River  of  Rocks." 
Among  the  Algonquins  it  was  known  by  the  sibilant  appel- 
lative ''  Sinsipe." 

Our  records  of  early  settlements  in  this  region  are  replete 
with  the  struggles  of  those  old  pioneers,  who  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  our  civilization,  and  who  "  builded  better  than  they 
knew."  There  were  giants  in  those  days,  men  mighty  in 
resources,  fortitude  and  courage.  The  snows  drifted  and  the 
stars  shone  through  the  roofs  of  their  rude  dwellings,  but 
they  slept  soundly  and  ate  heartily  of  their  venison  and  corn 
cakes.  They  could  not  always  pay  twenty  dollars  for  a  bar- 
rel of  flour,  and  forty  dollars  per  barrel  for  pork,  but  they 
never  hungered.  Like  the  Scotch  lassie  they  were  "  Content 
\vi'  little,  for  they  could  na'  ha'  mair." 

FIRST  PERMANENT    SETTLEMENT. 

On  a  sunny  July  morning,  in  1835,  a  party  of  travelers 
encamped  on  the  highlands  east  of  the  present  city  of  Janes- 
ville. A  scene  of  enchanting  beauty  unfolded  before  them. 
To  the  east  and  south  extended  the  undulating  prairie, 
jeweled  with  myriads  of  wild  flowers  as  thick  as  "the  leaves 
of  Vallombrosa."  It  was  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey,  that  blessed  realization  of  their  golden  dreams.  "  It 
is  the  Happy  Valley!"  said  one.  "  It  is  Canaan!"  exclaimed 
another.  They  named  the  ridge  on  which  they  stood  "  Mount 
Zion,"  for  to  them  it  was  a  mount  of  prophetic  vision.  They 
beheld  as  in  a  mirage,  limned  on  the  roseate  skies  of  the 
future,  a  prosperous  metropolis,  located  in  the  green  valley 

524 


THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  525 

of  the  Rock.  Could  they  behold  the  city  as  it  now  is,  the 
mart  of  busy  traffic,  the  centre  of  varied  industries,  traversed 
by  lines  of  mystic  electric  fluid  bound  in  iron  chains,  they 
might  well  exclaim,  "  Behold  what  a  miracle  the  divine  in- 
spiration of  genius  hath  wrought !" 

These  early  pioneers  w^ere  joined  soon  after  by  others, 
and  in  the  fell  of  1835,  the  first  log  cabin  was  built  nearly  op- 
posite the  "  Big  Rock,"  then  covered  with  scrub  cedars. 
This  point  had  been  for  years  a  fording  place  and  rendezvous 
for  fur  traders.  From  the  flat  summit  of  the  "Rock,"  only 
three  years  before,  Mucketay  Muckekawkaik  (Black  Hawk) 
harangued  his  warriors,  and  in  the  oak  openings  were  still 
found  the  embers  of  his  camp  fires. 

FIRST   EDUCATIONAL   INSTITUTIONS. 

The  first  settlers  had  hardly  made  themselves  comfort- 
able in  their  rude  cabins  before  they  opened  a  school  for  their 
children.  They  were  Eastern  people  and  fresh  from  the 
educational  institutions  of  their  childhood  ;  inspired  by  the 
lessons  learned  therein,  they  believed  that  culture  is  a  neces- 
sity of  good  citizenship. 

The  first  school  was  established  in  a  little  log  house  on 
the  bank  of  the  river  in  the  suburb  now  known  as  Spring 
Brook.  It  was  taught  by  Hon.  Hiram  Brown.  This  primi- 
tive school  house  was  of  the  rudest  construction,  with  chinked 
walls  of  rough  hewn  logs  and  seats  of  basswood  slabs.  In 
the  sultry  summer  days,  stray  Indians,  returning  to  Lake 
Koskonong  to  fish  and  harvest  wild  rice,  peered  in  at  the 
open  windows  and  listened  in  wonder  to  the  busy  hum  of 
study. 

In  1840  a  school  was  opened  in  the  woods  near  Main 
street,  three  rods  north  of  Milwaukee  street.  There  Miss 
Cornelia  Sheldon  (afterwards  Mrs.  Isaac  Woodle)  patiently 
sought  to  impart  wisdom  to  the  sturdy  little  Badgers.  She 
was  suceeded  the  following  winter  by  Rev.  G.  W.  Lawrence. 
The  first  debating  club  was  organized  that  winter.  Promi- 
nent among  those  who  participated  in  debates  was  James  H. 
Knowlton,  who  afterwards  displayed  marked  forensic  ability. 
His  contemporaries  at  the  bar  a  few  years  later  were  Hon. 
Matt.  Carpenter,  Hon.  Isaac  Woodle  and  Hon.  Chas.  Jordan. 
Other  instructors  in  the  village  schools  for  several  years  there- 
after were  Messrs.  Little,  Bennet,  Wood  and  White.  The 
path  of  the  teacher  was  not  strewn  with  roses  in  those  brave 
days  of  old.     Schoolma'ams  were  hired  for  the  summer  and 


526  THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

masters  for  tlie  winter,  for  it  was  a  festive  pastime  for  the  big 
boys  to  inaugurate  a  rebellion  and  "  chuck  "  the  master  into 
the  snow-drifts. 

A  few  years  later  two  brick  school  houses  were  erected. 
One  of  these  was  lately  razed  on  Division  street,  in  the  Sec- 
ond ward.  It  was  considered  a  model  of  convenience,  and 
regarded  with  feelings  of  pride  by  those  citizens  who  planned 
its  erection.  For  years  it  has  been  used  as  a  stable.  To 
what  a  base  estate  relentless  time  oft  brings  the  vaunted 
works  of  man. 

THE    .JANESVILLE    ACADEMY. 

In  1843,  a  charter  was  granted  to  A.  Hyatt  Smith,  W.  H. 
Bailey,  Charles  Stevens.  J.  B.  Doe,  E.  V.  Whiton  and  others, 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  academy  in  Janes\'ille. 

A  stone  building  of  commodious  proportions  was  erected 
on  High  street,  and  in  1844  a  school  was  opened  therein 
with  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Ruger  as  principal. 

Messrs.  Allen,  Woodruff,  Woodard,  Webb,  Spicer  and 
Gorton  successively  took  charge  of  this  institution,  and 
about  1855  the  property  was  purchased  by  the  city  for  use  as 
a  public  school,  and  was  known  for  a  brief  period  thereafter 
as  the  Janesville  free  academy.  This  ancient  landmark 
has  been  torn  down,  and  the  imposing  edifice  known  as  the 
Lincoln  school  erected  on  its  site.  Many  of  the  older  busi- 
ness men  of  Janesville  owe  their  education  to  the  curriculum 
of  the  old  academy. 

THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOL   SYSTEM — THE   GROWTH   OF   THE   IDEA. 

No  state  in  the  Union  has  made  such  liberal  provision 
for  free  education  as  Wisconsin. 

The  delegates  sent  from  Janesville  to  the  conventions  as- 
sembled in  1846-47-48  to  draft  a  state  constitution,  were  Hon. 
E.  V.  Whiton  and  Hon.  A.  Hyatt  Smith.  After  a  notable  par- 
tisan controversy  the  present  constitution  was  adopted  in  1848. 
Therein  provision  was  made  for  a  school  fund  of  more  than 
$5,000,000,  only  the  accrued  interest  of  that  sum  ever  to  be 
expended. 

For  nearly  ten  years,  under  the  village  charter,  Janes- 
ville maintained  her  district  schools,  but  these  were  crude  in 
methods,  and,  as  the  population  increased,  a  higher  grade  of 
culture  was  demanded.  A  few  enterprising  citizens,  with 
wise  forethought,  determined  upon  a  thorough  organization 
and  gradation  of  the  schools.     Among  those  who  were  en- 


THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  527 

thusiastic  promoters  of  this  achievement  were  Hon.  J.  J.  R. 
Pease,  Dr.  L.  J.  Barrows,  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Lawrence,  Hon.  Jas. 
Sutherland,  Judge  M.  S.  Prichard  and  Hon.  B.  Eldredge. 
Surprising  as  it  may  .seem,  there  were  "  moss-backs"  in  those 
days,  who  blocked  the  wheels  of  progress.  In  April,  1855, 
the  present  system  of  schools  was  adopted,  although  not  in 
practical  operation  until  the  schools  were  thoroughly  graded, 
in  1856. 

At  this  time  the  record  of  educational  and  literary  insti- 
tutions of  the  city  embraced  a  central  high  school,  eight 
schools  of  lower  grade,  three  select  schools  and  the  state  In- 
stitute for  the  Blind;  also  the  Janesville  Lyceum  and  the 
Mechanics'  institute,  the  latter  society  assembling  for  im- 
provement in  arts  and  sciences. 

That  the  improvements  made  since  that  early  period 
may  be  more  apparent  by  comparison,  the  following  statis- 
tics are  compiled  showing  the  practical  operation  of  the 
graded  school  system  in  the  first  two  years  of  its  existence 
and  in  the  present  year  (1892) : 

EDUCATIONAL   STATISTICS   FOR  THE   YEARS   ENDING  JULY,  1856, 
1857,    1892,    RESPECTIVELY. 


1856.     I        ia57.     I        1892. 


No.  school  buildings 6       i  7     '  7 

No.  teachers I  10       ,  17  45 

No.  pupils  eurolled I        375  1,:^32  2,000 

Average  No.  to  teacher 1  37*      ;  78     ■■  44.4 

Total  expenses  of  schools,  including 

new  buildings 

No.  children  school   age 

Amt.  tax  levied  for  school  purposes., 
Valuation  of  school  property 


$3,819.10  $7,390       $33,283.81 

2,560  1        3,363            4,182 

$13,649  $5,000       $18,000 

i$56,000  I  $200,000 


The  following  is  a  comparison  of  average  attendance  se- 
cured in  the  high  school  in  1859-1860,  with  that  of  the  high 
schools  of  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Oswego  and  Chicago: 

Oswego  high  school 94. 

Woodward  high  school,  Cincinnati 95.4 

Hughes  high  school,  Cincinnati 97.2 

St.  Louis  high  school 95.5 

Chicago  high  school 97.1 

Janesville  high  school 98. 

By  reference  to  the  former  tabular  statement  it  will  be 
observed  that  during  the  year  preceding  the  one  in  which  the. 
present  system  was  in  practical  operation  (1855-56),  there  were 
375  pupils  in  the   schools.     The  first  year  of  its   operation 


528  THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

there  was  an  increase  of  952.  For  four  successive  years  there 
was  an  advance  in  attendance  of  twelve  per  cent.  For  the 
first  four  3'ears  the  average  cost  per  scholar  was  $4.38,  less 
than  under  the  old  district  system,  demonstrating  the  econo- 
my of  the  graded  sj'stemof  education.  In  1842  (first  census), 
there  were  75  school  children  in  Janesville ;  in  1845,  273  ; 
in  1850,  1,000 ;  in  1853  (date  of  first  charter),  1,600.  In  the 
present  year  (1892),  4,182. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  about  forty  per  cent,  of  the 
school  population  of  the  city  are  non-attendants  upon  the 
public  schools.  The  causes  operating  to  produce  this  result 
are  the  local  manufacturing  interests  and  the  private  schools. 
The  parochial  schools,  St.  Joseph's  convent  and  the  German 
Lutheran,  are  largely  patronized  by  the  foreign  element. 
The  wages  offered  by  the  cotton  factories  prove  strong 
inducements  to  the  parents  to  deny  their  children  even  an 
ordinary  amount  of  scholastic  training.  The  attendance 
during  the  last  year  (1892)  was  the  largest  in  the  history  of 
the  schools. 

ROSTER   OF   TEACHERS. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  educators,  who  have  succes- 
sively had  charge  of  the  publicschoolsof  Janesville  since  their 
organization:  Levi  M.  Cass,  J.  G.  McKindlev,  Dr.  Brewster, 
S.  T.  Lockwood,  C.  A.  Hutchins,  O.  R.  Smith,  W.  D.  Parker, 
R.  W.  Burton,  C.  H.  Keyes,  F.  W.  Cooley. 

Professor  0.  R.  Smith  died  in  1879.  At  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  principal  of  the  high  school  at  Sparta,  Wis. 
He  ranked  high  as  an  educator,  and  many  of  the  old  teachers 
and  alumni  hold  in  grateful  remembrance  his  conscientious 
work. 

In  1859  the  teachers  in  the  high  school  department 
were  L.  Cass,  Ava  Morgan,  F.  Bacon,  B.  Webster.  Those  in 
charge  of  wari  schools  about  that  time  were  Messrs.  Parker, 
Woodman,  Spaulding,  Case  and  Dewitt.  Other  old  time 
teachers  were  Misses  Graham,  Moon,  Wingate,  Herkimer, 
Martin,  Bradley,  Richards,  Armstrong  and  Riker. 

The  present  corps  of  teachers  in  the  high  school  is  Frank 
W.  Cooley,  superintendent ;  Florence  Sanborn,  vice-principal; 
Carrie  F.  Zeininger,  Clara  Weyer,  Emma  Paulson,  Carolyn 
Kimball,  assistants. 

THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  first  school  meeting  under  the  charter  was  held  May 
31, 1855,  and  was  composed  of  the  following  gentlemen:   An- 


THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  529 

drew  Palmer,  president;  S.  W.  Smith,  secretary;  James  Suther- 
land and  Rev.  G.  W.  Lawrence. 

The  first  superintendent  of  schools  was  C.  P.  King ;  Hon. 
J.  Sutherland  was  elected  next,  and  under  his  administration 
much  was  done  towards  gradation  and  selection  of  text  books. 

During  the  intervening  period  the  following  gentlemen 
have  at  various  times  filled  the  office  of  president  or  secretary 
of  the  board  of  education:  H.  W.  Collins,  Rev.  H.  Foote, 
Levi  Alden,  O.  J.  Dearborn,  B.  B.  Eldredge,  Hiram  Bowen, 
James  Armstrong,  H.  A.  Patterson,  W.  B.  Strong,  E.  F.  Spauld- 
ing,  H.  N.  Comstock,  C.  Gibbs,  F.  Pendleton,  A.  S.  Jones.  S. 
Holdredge,  W.  A.  Lawrence,  L.  F.  Patten,  G.  R.  Curtis,  J.  B. 
Whiting,  L.  J.  Barrows,  E.  C.  Smith,  James  Shearer,  Lewis 
Hunt,  S.  C.  Burnham,  C.  Bowles,  A.  O.  Wilson.  The  records 
of  the  board  for  1861  show  a  remarkable  struggle  for  official 
preferment.  Candidates  for  the  presidency  were  Rev.  G.  W. 
Lawrence  and  H.  A.  Patterson.  On  the  eighth  ballot  the  lat- 
ter was  elected.  The  candidates  for  the  secretaryship  were  E  .F. 
Spaulding  and  James  Armstrong.  Three  adjournments  and 
twelve  ballots  were  had  before  James  Armstrong  was  made 
clerk. 

The  following  gentlemen  compose  the  present  board  of 
education :  Horace  McElroy,  president ;  A.  0.  Wilson,  clerk; 
Frank  W.  Cooley,  superintendent ;  T.  W.  Goldin,  John  Slight- 
am,  Victor  P.  Richardson  and  A.  G.  Anderson. 

SCHOOL   BUILDINGS. 

In  1856  commodious  buildings  were  erected  in  the  Second 
and  Fifth  wards,  and  the  schools  were  graded  into  high 
school,  grammar,  intermediate  and  primary  departments,  the 
old  academy  becoming  the  central  or  high  school  of  the  sys- 
tem. With  its  several  departments,  in  which  were  pui-sued 
studies  taught  in  our  best  academies,  with  its  ability  to  grad- 
uate pupils  with  a  thorough  English  and  classical  education, 
the  old  academy  became  a  magnet  of  superior  force  and  an 
important  factor  in  municipal  affairs. 

A  demand  for  more  room  secured  the  erection  of  the  pres- 
ent high  school  building  in  1858,  at  a  cost  of  $40,000 ;  and  in 
1859  the  high  school,  with  Levi  Cass  as  prmcipal,  was  trans- 
ferred to  its  present  location.  An  increase  of  population  soon 
rendered  additional  accommodations  necessary,  and  in  1866 
and  1873  buildings  were  erected  in  the  First  and  Fourth 
wards.  In  1876  the  requisite  appropriation  was  made  for  the 
Lincoln  school  building.    Since  then  three  more  school  houses 


530  THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

have  been  erected ;  and  thus  year  by  year  the  school  property 
has  been  increased,  until  now  its  valuation  ma}'  be  estimated 
at  $200,000. 

THE    HIGH   SCHOOL   BUILDING. 

Every  history  of  sequent  events  has  its  epochs.  An  era 
in  the  history  of  the  schools  was  the  construction  of  the 
new  high  school  building.  Words  are  tame  to  express  the 
feelings  of  pride  with  which  the  pupils  took  possession  in 
May,  1859.  It  was  to  them  the  "  school  house  beautiful." 
although  when  first  occupied  there  was  only  one  coat  of  plas- 
ter on  the  walls,  no  inside  woodwork,  and  no  school  appli- 
ances except  crayons. 

It  is  located  on  a  beautiful  eminence  commanding  a 
charming  prospect.  The  selection  of  this  location  occasioned 
an  exciting  controversy  between  east  and  west  side  factions, 
which  old  settlers  recall  with  interest. 

This  plat  contained  the  old  village  cemetery.  A  new 
burial  ground,  Oak  Hill,  had  been  purchased ;  and  the  removal 
of  the  dead  was  deemed  by  some  advisable  and  expedient, 
by  others  a  sacrilegious  desecration  of  sacred  ground.  Com- 
bine certain  elements  in  nature  and  an  explosion  follows. 
Antagonistic  moral  elements  must  have  been  assimilating  at 
this  time,  for  a  disturbance  arose  that  sent  a  thrill  of  excite- 
ment through  the  city.  Laborers  were  hired  by  east  side 
councilmen  to  disinter  the  dead,  and  wagon  loads  of  unknown 
anatomies,  in  miscellaneous  heaps,  were  carried  across  the 
city  and  again  buried,  to  await  in  peace  the  last  trump. 
This  uncanny  business,  being  hastily  done,  was  the  match 
that  ignited  the  fuse. 

Injunctions  were  threatened  and  there  was  much  wordy 
warfare.  But  at  length  wiser  counsels  prevailed  and  peace 
was  established.  And  thus  above  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  arose 
a  commodious  institution  of  learning,  the  alma  mater  of  com- 
ing generations,  the  proud  Acropolis  of  the  tree-embowered 
city  below  it. 

OLD-TIME    DISCIPLINE. 

Among  the  old-time  pedagogues  was  one  whose  methods 
of  punishment  were  unique  if  not  effective.  His  inventive 
genius  was  superb.  The  ruler,  the  hickory  switch  and  the 
strap,  were  constantly  employed.  At  the  least  provocation 
his  ruler  was  hurled  across  the  desk,  with  unerring  precision 
aimed  at  the  head  of  the  offender.  Woe  be  unto  the  luck- 
less  wight  who   did  not  duck  his   tow-head  in   time.     For 


THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  531 

minor  offenses  delinquents  were  compelled  to  stand  upon 
a  chair  with  one  foot  uplifted  and  whittle  a  hardwood  stick, 
or  they  were  caught  up  "  scruff  and  heels "  and  thrust 
into  the  long  box  stove,  if  perchance  the  fire  was  out. 
In  lieu  of  chewing  gum,  they  were  given  chips  from  the 
wood  box  to  ruminate.  The  punishment  "sitting  on  the 
wall  "  deserves  more  than  passing  mention.  The  unhappy 
culprit  caught  "in  derelicto,"  was  compelled  to  brace  his 
spine  upon  the  wall,  place  his  heels  a  foot  from  the  base- 
board and  maintain  a  sitting  posture  upon  an  imaginary 
seat  for  an  interminable  period.  If  through  weariness  the 
miserable  sufferer  tried  to  support  himself  on  his  heels,  a 
smart  blow  from  the  omnipresent  ruler,  deftly  applied, 
promptly  elevated  his  knees  to  the  required  angle. 

With  the  dawn  of  Prof.  Cass's  administration  there  came 
a  reform  in  methods  of  discipline.  Corporal  punishment 
was  rarely  resorted  to,  and  pupils  were  taught  the  higher  law 
of  individual  moral  responsibility. 

Opposition  to  the  graded  school  system  still  existed.  The 
privileged  few  patronized  "select  schools,"  and  were  averse  to 
taxation  for  the  higher  education  of  the  son  of  labor  in  his 
patched  suit  of  jeans.  A  new  era  dawned  in  the  history  of 
the  schools.  The  pupils  in  the  high  school  department  in 
the  old  academy  led  in  the  march  of  progress,  inspired  by 
the  thought  that  upon  them  depended  their  success  or  down- 
fall. In  that  little  school-room  world  were  set  in  motion  the 
higher  moral  forces  of  the  divine  workshop.  Pictures  were 
hung,  and  evergreens  festooned  above  the  smoke-grimed 
cracks  which  time  was  tracing  on  the  old  walls.  By  volun- 
tary subscription  a  piano  was  hired,  and  music  lent  its  charm 
to  school  exercises.  From  songs  that  purified  and  ennobled 
the  soul,  to  soap  that  cleansed  their  surroundings,  both  boys 
and  girls  digressed  with  apt  facility,  and  as  often  as  necessity 
demanded  brought  soap  and  water  and  scrubbed  the  desks 
and  floors,  and  polished  the  windows  until  they  shone.  All 
honor  to  the  revered  master  whose  genial  influence  let  in  the 
sunshine  on  the  cobwebs  of  the  past. 

A  tribute  should  here  be  given  to  Prof.  Levi  Cass.  Stand- 
ing on  the  dividing  line,  between  the  old  and  the  new  regime, 
his  work  was  eminently  typical  of  modern  educational  meth- 
ods. Gifted  with  rare  intuition,  he  stirred  the  pulses  of 
young  life  to  earnest  aspirations  for  future  greatness.  The 
principle  of  his  work  and  the  secret  of  his  success  were  these 
words  of  poor  Keats,  "Axioms  are  not  axioms  until  they 
have  been  proved  upon  our  pulses." 


532  THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

REMINISCENCES. 

In  the  exigencies  of  the  financial  crises  of  the  ante- 
bellum period,  the  strictest  economies  were  necessary.  Those 
were  the  days  of  depreciated  currency.  Every  bank  in  Illi- 
nois failed,  as  also  banks  which  supplied  half  the  issue  in 
Wisconsin.  Notes  were  redeemed  at  rates  which  averaged 
fifty  or  sixty  cents  on  a  dollar.  The  city's  bonded  debt  was 
large  and  the  treasury  was  empty. 

Teachers  were  paid  with  orders  which  were  discounted 
at  twenty  per  cent.  Only  one  firm  of  merchants  (McKey 
Bros.)  would  accept  them  in  payment  for  goods.  A  lady 
teacher,  now  residing  in  Chicago,  thus  relates  her  experi- 
ence: 

"I  received  $6.00  per  week  salary,  paid  S4.50  for  board  and 
washing,  leaving  a  margin  of  81.50  per  week — $60.00  per  year 
for  clothing  and  support  during  the  twelve  weeks  of  vacation. 
Most  of  my  spare  time  was  spent  in  wearisome  plans  for  'Mak- 
ing auld  claes  look  amaist  as  weel  as  new.'  " 

And  then  came  the  darker  days  of  the  civil  war,  days 
of  disaster  and  defeat.  Financial  disaster  and  personal  pri- 
vations were  of  minor  importance.  The  lessons  of  patriotism 
taught  our  youth  at  the  fireside  and  by  faithful  teachers 
bore  abundant  fruitage.  A  wave  of  patriotism  surged 
through  the  schools.  Members  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, teachers  and  pupils  responded  to  the  call  to  arms. 
Among  the  former  were  Dr.  Amos  Jones,  James  Armstrong,. 
E.  E.  Woodman  and  Moses  De^^^tt.  Prof.  S.  T.  Lockwood,  of 
the  high  school,  was  commissioned  captain  of  company  A, 
fortieth  regiment  Wisconsin  volunteers. 

Military  drill  was  established  in  the  schools.  Little  ones 
in  the  primaries  shouted  the  "Battle  Cry  of  Freedom,"  and 
"Rally  Round  the  Flag,"  in  mimic  battle  array  on  the  play- 
ground. Then  sadder  days  came,  and  there  were  sung 
pathetic  songs  of  the  dying  on  the  camp  ground,  "Amid  the 
circling  tents,  in  the  evening  dews  and  damps."  When 
at  last  the  shadows  lifted  and  the  sunlight  of  peace  flooded 
the  land  with  golden  light,  there  were  requiems  chanted  for 
the  gallant  lads  who  returned  no  more. 

The  follo\nng  pupils  in  the  schools  who  were  Wisconsin 
soldiers  are  sleeping  in  "Oak  Hill :"  Henry  Wingate  (killed  at 
Vicksburg),  William  Trask,  Gage  Burgess,  Howard  Hoskins, 
Theodore  Tripp,  George  Marshall.  There  was  one  high 
school  boy  (H.  Howell),  who  died  in  hospital  and  was  buried 


THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS,  533 

ill  Memphis.  His  last  days  were  full  of  pitiful  longing  for 
home  and  mother,  and  vainly  he  pleaded  in  his  dying  hours, 
"Take  me  home!     I  must  go  home!" 

But  they  are  not  dead  !     They  marched  on  unto  Day, 
Theirs  was  the  victory,  we  wait  by  the  way. 
They  fell,  that  Columbia  might  rise  from  her  fears, 
And  fling  forth  her  banner  through  cycles  of  years. 

He  was  our  strength,  when  the  night  of  our  pain 
Grew  dark  and  darker  with  storm-clouds  and  rain. 
His  truth  eternal,  a  star  in  the  night. 
Foretold  the  dawning  of  justice  and  right. 

NATIONAL    EDUCATIONAL    EXPOSITIONS. 

In  1876,  views  of  the  city  school  buildings  were  sent  to 
the  Centennial  exposition  at  Philadelphia. 

In  1886,  the  annual  meeting  of  the  National  educa- 
tional association  was  held  in  Chicago,  and  in  connection 
therewith,  there  was  an  exposition  of  "school  work  and 
appliances,"  as  a  fit  celebration  of  the  settlement  of  the 
Northwest  territory.  The  legislature  appropriated  $2,000 
for  the  suitable  exposition  of  AVisconsin's  work,  and  Superin- 
tendant  C.  W.  Keyes,  of  this  city,  was  chosen  director  for 
Wisconsin.  Janesville  schools  were  thoroughly  represented. 
Upon  the  solicitation  of  the  managers  of  the  Milwaukee 
exposition,  the  work  was  afterwards  transferred  to  Milwau- 
kee, where  it  was  placed  on  exhibition. 

teachers'   MEETINGS,    INSTITUTES,    ETC. 

Twice  each  month  Janesville  teachers  meet  for  profes- 
sional study  and  general  improvement.  The  work  of  the  Wis- 
consin teachers'  reading  circle  has  been  carried  on,  the  subjects 
being  physiology  and  hygiene,  general  history,  theory  and 
art  of  teaching.  The  entire  teaching  force  rely  greatly  on 
these  meetings  for  aid  in  their  work,  believing  that  success 
depends  upon  frequent  interchange  of  schemes  and  ''free 
trade  in  the  product  of  the  brain   in  educational   opinions." 

An  important  factor  aiding  the  teachers  in  their  work, 
has  been  the  normal  training  received  in  the  teachers'  in- 
stitutes. It  is  a  notable  fact  that  the  first  discoverable  legis- 
lation in  the  state  upon  the  question  of  normal  education 
is  found  in  the  senate  journal  for  1856.  From  this  it  ap- 
pears that  Honorable  James  Sutherland  (second  superintend- 
ent of  Janesville  schools)  introduced  "  A  bill  for  an  act  to 
provide   normal   instruction  and  teachers'    institutes."     As 


534  THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

chairman  for  the  committee  on  education,  he  took  an  active 
part  in  holding  up  to  pubhc  condemnation  the  machinations 
of  certain  individuals  known  as  ''The  Forty,"  who  had  been 
defrauding  the  school  fund  of  the  state  by  a  fictitious  sale 
of  school  lands.  In  1857,  a  bill  entitled  "a  bill  for  the  en- 
couragement of  normal  schools  and  academies,"  was  cham- 
pioned through  the  senate  by  Mr.  Sutherland,  and  became 
the  law  by  which  our  state  has  the  most  perfect  system  of 
normal  schools  in  the  Union. 

The  first  teachers'  institute  ever  held  in  Rock  county 
was  convened  in  the  high  school  building,  November  14, 
1867.  Professor  O.  R.  Smith  was  elected  permanent  presi- 
dent and  M.  L.  Martin  (Mrs.  M.  L.  Beers)  secretary.  Emi- 
nent educators  from  different  parts  of  the  state  were  in  attend- 
ance. Among  those  who  enthusiastically  joined  all  the  dis- 
cussions was  Professor  J.  G.  McMynn,  then  superintendent 
of  public  instruction.  A  giant  in  strength  of  intellect  and 
soul-wealth,  his  impromptu  lectures  stamped  him  as  a  model 
orator  and  educator.  There  have  been  few  among  modern 
educators  more  learned  and  profound  teachers  than  he. 
Others  present  were  Honorable  J.  L.  Pickard,  Professors 
Twining,  Chadbourne,  Whitford,  Parker,  Woodman,  Rev.  J. 
B.  Pradt  and  Superintendent  Foote.  The  eminent  editor, 
author  and  poet,  J.  G.  Holland,  was  secured  for  a  lecture. 

In  the  years  1886-87,  respectively,  the  second  and  third 
teachers'  institutes  were  held.  The  state  superintend- 
ent of  instruction  furnished  an  efficient  corps  of  instructors 
to  aid  in  the  work,  amongwhom  were  Hon.  Robert  Graham, 
Prof.  J.  W.  Stearns,  SuptrThayer. 

COURSE  OF   STUDY. 

In  18*89,  the  course  of  study  was  extended  by  the  addi- 
tion of  German  and  Greek.  The  faculty  of  the  state  univer- 
sity thereupon  voted  to  admit  the  Janesville  high  school 
upon  the  list  of  schools  accredited  for  all  the  courses  of  that 
institution.  Arrangements  have  also  been  made  whereby 
graduates  may  also  enter  the  freshman  class  of  Milton  col- 
lege. The  curriculum  now  embraces  five  courses  of  study, 
as  follows :  Ancient  classical  course,  commercial  course, 
English  course,  general  science  course,  and  modern  classical 
course.  During  the  present  year  (1892),  a  portion  of  the 
kindergarten  methods — the  "occupations" — was  introduced 
into  the  work  of  the  first  grade,  viz.:  They  include  (1)  prick- 
ing, sewing,  weaving,  paper-folding,  peas-work  and  modeling; 


THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  535 

(2)  occupation  songs.  This  has  been  of  great  educational  value, 
and  a  source  of  inspiration  to  the  entire  force  of  primary 
teachers.  A  systematic  training  of  the  senses  will  prove  val- 
uable to  the  pupil  in  all  his  school  life. 

Another  change  of  importance  in  the  course  of  study  was 
the  introduction  in  the  last  year  of  a  commercial  course. 
This  has  proved  a  success,  about  forty  per  cent  of  the  first 
year  pupils  selecting  the  same.  It  was  designed  especially 
for  those  who  cannot  attend  college,  and  who  wish  to  qualify 
themselves  for  business  life. 

IMPROVEMENTS,    APPLIANCES,  ETC. 

The  necessity  of  a  library  for  supplementar}'  reading  and 
reference  was  urged  for  several  years.  At  length  a  begin- 
ning was  made,  and  by  subsequent  accretions  a  valuable  li- 
brary has  been  obtained  for  the  high  school,  containing  328 
volumes.  In  the  various  city  schools  there  are,  collectively, 
384  volumes. 

The  schools  are  supplied  with  a  set  of  Yaggy's  geographi- 
cal studies  and  Yaggy's  anatomical  charts;  also  a  fine  collection 
of  specimens  illustrative  of  work  in  various  studies.  A  valuable 
outfit  of  physical  and  chemical  apparatus  has  been  secured. 
One  of  the  large  recitation  roorns  of  the  high  school  building  is 
fitted  up  as  a  science  room,  containing  laboratory  table,  cases 
for  apparatus  and  chemicals,  geological  specimens,  and  science 
reference  books. 

NORMAL  TRAINING. 

As  the  law  now  requires  instruction  in  the  theory  and  art 
of  teaching  in  all  free  high  schools,  two  terms  of  the  senior 
year  are  devoted  to  careful  study  of  this  topic,  supplemented 
by  observation  of  the  methods  of  teaching  in  the  citj'  schools. 

During  the  present  year  (1892)  a  "graded  course  of  in- 
struction' was  compiled  by  Superintendent  Frank  W.  Cooley, 
approved  by  the  state  superintendent,  and  adopted  by  the 
board  of  education.  This  course  of  study  is  designed  for  the 
special  use  of  teachers.  It  aims  to  "afford  such  suggestions 
in  regard  to  subject-matter  and  methods  of  instruction  as  may 
be  helpful  in  securing  systematic  work  with  the  best  results. 
A  course  of  study  is  a  development.  It  represents  the  ideal 
towards  which  the  schools  are  striving,  and  should  always  be 
in  advance  of  them." 

ALUMNI. 

At  the  close  of  the  school  year  1891 ,  the  resident  grad- 
uates of  the  Janesville  high  school  organized  an  alumni  asso- 


536  THE  JANESVILLE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

elation.  At  the  annual  banquet,  in  July,  about  two  hundred 
graduates  assembled  for  a  renewal  of  old-time  friendships. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  1892-1893:  Mr. 
Victor  Richardson,  president ;  Mrs.  M.  L.  Beers,  vice-presi- 
dent; Miss  Mary  Clark,  treasurer;  Miss  Mary  Davis,  secretary. 

The  first  formal  graduation  occurred  in  1859.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  class  were:  W.  D.  Parker,  Emma  Wood  (Mrs.  J. 
Winans),  Mary  Brown,  Mary  Douglas,  Jennie  Williston,  Mary 
L.  Martin  (Mrs.  Beers).  In  the  preceding  year,  E.  E,  Wood- 
man, S.  Scofield  (Mrs.  Parker)  and  P.  Moon  (Mrs.  Sharp) 
completed  the  course,  but  had  no  public  graduation. 

During  a  period  of  thirty-three  years,  303  alumni  have 
completed  their  school  work  and  assumed  the  responsibilities 
of  life.  Among  those  whose  vocation  is  known,  there  are  two 
physicians,  three  lawyers,  twenty  students  in  colleges  and  uni- 
versities, two  telegraphers,  sixty-eight  teachers,  twenty-one 
merchants  and  salesmen,  four  stenographers.  One  is  secre- 
tiiry  of  the  board  of  normal  regents;  one  (a  lady)  is  engaged 
in  sheep-raising,  eighty  are  attending  to  home  duties  and 
housekeeping;  there  are  also  a  tailoress,  an  architect,  a  farmer, 
a  civil  engineer  and  a  publisher. 

Janesville  has  just  reason  to  be  proud  of  her  alumni.  In 
the  various  industries,  in  business  circles  and  in  the  profes- 
sions, its  members  hold  high  rank.  The  refinement  and  cul- 
ture received  in  the  schools  goes  with  them  in  all  the  sacred 
relations  of  life.  The  sum  total  of  such  influences  is  beyond 
computation.  The  roll  of  honor  is  a  long  one.  But  the 
ranks  are  broken.  There  are  fourteen  vacancies.  They  have 
only  been  promoted  from  the  preparatory  school  below  to  the 
high  school  above. 

There  are  smiles  for  the  dear  ones,  courageous  and  brave. 

Who  carved  out  their  lives  with  triumph  and  skill, 
And  tears  for  those  in  their  low, mossy  graves 

In  the  city  of  silence  on  the  hill. 
And  some  of  us  still  must  labor  and  wait, 

Reward  cometh  some  time,  sooner  or  late, 
When  school  is  dismissed,  and  the  shadows  fall, 

And  we  turn  to  the  Home  awaiting  us  all. 

The  story  of  fifty-seven  years  of  school  life  in  Janesville 
is  a  pen-picture  vivid  with  glow  and  color.  It  is  a  record  of 
high  aims  accomplished,  of  successes  achieved.  The  found- 
ers of  the  present  system  of  schools  may  be  regarded  as  the 
greatest  benefactors  of  the  cit\\ 

Mary  L.  Beers. 


Appleton  Public  Schools. 


The  public  school  system  of  the  city  of  Apjjleton,  Wis- 
consin, had  its  beginning  in  the  fall  of  1851,  when  the  town  of 
Grand  Chut'C  was  organized  into  a  school  district,  known  as 
District  No.  1.  W.  S.  Warner  was  elected  clerk,  and  after 
much  discussion  it  was  determined  to  have  a  free  school  the 
following  winter.  Lawrence  university  had  for  some  time 
maintained  a  pay  school  for  all  comers,  to  which  such  par- 
ents as  chose  to  pay  tuition  had  sent  their  children.  The 
objection  to  a  free  school  was  that  it  would  take  support 
frpm  the  struggling  college,  which  then,  as  now,  was  held 
to  be  the  hope  and  pride  of  the  city.  In  due  course  Daniel 
Huntley,  a  young  man  of  some  experience,  from  A'ermont, 
was  put  in  charge  of  the  first  public  school,  in  a  rude  build- 
ing on  the  southeast  corner  of  Oneida  street  and  College 
avenue.  He  taught  singing  school  in  the  evenings,  and  had 
to  take  pay  for  all  service  in  orders  on  the  stores,  the  current 
money  of  the  period.  He  had  to  collect  some  in  Little  Chute 
and  bring  his  goods  home  on  his  back.  His  pay  as  teacher 
was  $28  per  month,  of  which  $10  was  reckoned  in  lieu  of 
boarding  around.  He  had  about  60  pupils,  many  of  them 
young  men  and  women  who  had  not  before  had  opportunit)\ 
Rev.  W.  H.  Sampson,  president  of  the  university,  was  then 
town  superintendent,  of  whom  he  obtained  a  certificate  after 
a  rigid  examination. 

The  city  grew  from  three  points.  Grand  Chute,  Apple- 
ton  and  Lawsburg.  The  latter  adhered  to  the  college  school, 
but  Grand  Chute  formed  a  new  district  in  1852,  now  the 
third  district ;  and  James  Gilmore  was  its  first  teacher,  in  a 
building  now  standing,  twice  enlarged,  on  the  southwest  cor- 
ner of  Lawrence  and  Elm  streets.  After  Mr.  Huntley,  came 
Joseph  Rork  (1853-4),  Mr.  Huntley  going  to  the  third  district, 
where  he  was  succeeded  by  S.  N.  Griffith.  The  first  woman 
in  the  public  school  was  Mary  Hillard,  assistant,  in  1853-4,  in 
the  present  second  district,  followed  by  Mrs.  T.  W.  Lyman  and 
Jane  Lawrence.  H.  S.  Eggleston  Avas  the  next  clerk,  succeeded 
by  Anson  Ballard,  in  this  district.  A  school  house  was  built 
on  the  site  of  the  Hercules  (burned  in  1854);  and  a  brick 
building,  now  the  central  part  of  the  Hercules,  was  erected. 

537 


538  APPLETON  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

Appleion  was  organized  as  a  village  in  1853,  and  as  a 
city  in  1857,  when  the  numbers  of  the  pre-existing  districts 
were  changed  to  correspond  to  the  wards. 

Anson  Ballard,  as  clerk  and  citizen,  took  great  interest 
in  schools  and  was  a  firm  adherent  of  Pestalozzi.  Under  his 
influence  a  kindergarten  was  organized  in  Lawsburg,  which 
lasted  several  years,  under  the  charge  of  different  teachers, 
among  whom  was  D.  S.  Jordan,  now  president  of  the  Leland 
Stanford,  Jr.,  university ;  B.  F.  Van  Vleck,  professor  of  natu- 
ral history,  Harvard ;  and  Professor  Anderson,  of  De  Pauw 
university. 

Meanwhile,  under  the  city  charter,  a  sort  of  union  of 
districts  was  attempted ;  but  from  jealousies  and  misunderr 
standings,  it  soon  fell  through,  and  the  districts  resumed 
their  independence  as  the}'  now  exist.  They  also  passed 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  town  superintendent  to  that  of 
the  county,  and  then  to  the  city  superintendency.  Under  the 
union  scheme,  Professor  C.  N.  Sowers  was  principal  and  super- 
intendent, but  he  resigned  and  was  replaced  by  Jesse  Fuller. 
He  was  succeeded,  about  1866,  by  A.  H.  Conkey,  who  had 
been  principal  of  an  academic  boarding  school  in  Mississippi, 
but  was  driven  thence  at  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion.  He 
was  a  man  well  fitted  for  the  position,  and  did  much  during 
his  eleven  years'  service  to  build  up  the  schools  of  the  city. 
He  was  succeeded  by  A.  B.  Whitman,  of  Lawrence  university, 
who  held  the  place  for  five  years  and  kept  the  work  of  the 
schools  well  to  the  front.  After  him  came  I.  N.  Stewart,  of 
the  university  of  Wisconsin,  for  two  years,  and  then  the 
present  incumbent,  Mrs.  M.  R.  Winslow. 

About  1861  the  Fourth  ward  was  organized  as  a 
school  district,  and  built  a  house,  subsequently  burned.  Mrs. 
Halstead,  Miss  B.  A.  Strong  and  O.  W.  Pond  were  among 
the  first  teachers.  Mr.  WTiitman  served  as  teacher  for  six 
years  before  being  superintendent.  A  new  brick  house  re- 
placed the  old  building,  which  was  condemned  as  unsafe,  in 
1888.  A  new  building,  very  handsome  and  commodious, 
was  dedicated  January  1,  1890.  The  first  district  also  lost 
its  first  building  by  fire.  The  frame  building  succeeding  it 
was  abandoned  in  1881  for  the  brick  structure  now  in  use. 
But  a  large  addition  was  made  to  it  in  1885.  The  second 
district  added  to  the  Hercules,  and  then  built  the  Amicus. 
In  1882  it  erected  the  Ryan  high  school  building,  and  is  now 
about  replacing  the  Amicus  with  a  ten-room  building  of  the 
most  complete  and  modern  structure.     The  Third   district 


APPLETON  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  539 

erected,  in  1885,  a  large  and  commodious  brick  building,  now 
in  service.  A  convenient  four-room  building  was  erected  by 
this  district  in  the  Fifth  ward  in  1877.  The  Richmond 
building  in  the  Fourth  district,  the  only  frame  building  in 
the  city,  was  erected  about  1887. 

The  Second  district  free  high  school  was  organized  in 
1876,  and  graduated  its  first  class  in  1878.  It  has  graduated 
in  all  144  pupils,  sixty-one  boys  and  eighty-three  girls.  This 
district  issued  its  first  catalogue  and  course  of  study  in  1874. 
R.  H.  Schmidt  had  already  been  principal  two  years,  and  he 
continued  in  charge  till  1884.  He  was  succeeded  by  I.  N. 
Stewart,  who  remained  four  years,  when  Mr.  Schmidt  re- 
sumed the  principalship  for  two  years,  making  in  all  fourteen 
years  of  service.  0.  H.  Ecke,  the  present  incumbent,  then 
took  charge.  These  three  principals  are  all  graduates  of  the 
university  of  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Stewart  has  served  for  many 
years  as  conductor  of  teachers'  institutes.  Under  his  princi- 
palship, the  school  established  in  1886  a  manual  training  de- 
partment, equipped  at  first  with  one  bench,  one  set  of  car- 
penter's tools  and  one  set  of  wood-car%nng  tools,  but  without 
a  special  teacher.  There  are  now  several  benches,  a  lathe,  a 
forge  and  a  special  teacher,  who  also  has  charge  of  the  draw- 

The  Third  district  free  high  school  was  organized  under 
its  present  principal  in  1891.  The  preparation  for  this  ad- 
vanced work  was  begun  by  his  predecessor,  Oliver  E.  Wells, 
now  state  superintendent.  It  will  graduate  its  first  class  in 
1893. 

There  is  a  conservatism  in  the  school  affairs  of  this  city 
rare  enough  to  be  worthy  of  note,  as  shown  in  the  way  its 
officers  and  teachers  have  been  retained.  Mr.  Conkey  served 
as  superintendent  twelve  years.  Mr.  Whitman,  as  teacher 
and  superintendent,  eleven  years ;  John  F.  Rose,  as  treasurer 
of  first  district,  and  Sam  Ryan,  as  clerk  of  the  second  district, 
twenty-one  years  each ;  Mr.  Schmidt  was  principal  for  four- 
teen years.  Mr.  Burk,  still  in  service,  worked  as  assistant 
for  six  years  and  as  principal  eleven  years.  Emma  E.  Baily 
has  seen  twenty-two  years  in  the  schools  of  the  city.  Annette 
C.  Purdy  has  put  in  twenty-one  years  continuously  in  the 
second  district,  while  Bertha  A.  Strong  has  filled  her  position 
in  the  same  school  twenty  years,  without  break,  and  was 
previously  oncj^ear  in  the  fourth  district.  Mrs.  L.  J.  Newell 
has  been  twelve  years  in  the  first  district  and  seventeen  in 
the  city;   Miss  M.   L.   McCormic  and   Miss   Delia   Grimes, 


540  APPLETON  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

fifteen  years  in  the  second  district ;  Miss  Frank  Bailey  fifteen 
years  in  the  city.     Few  cities  so  new  can  show  such  a  record. 

The  graduates  of  the  common  schools  of  the  city,  not 
including  the  high  school,  are  required  to  pass  elementary 
algebra,  physical  geography,  elementary  botany  and  physiol- 
ogy. The  First  district  sent  out  its  first  class  in  1880,  and 
has  graduated,  in  all,  104.  The  Third  district  began  in  1886, 
and  has  sent  out  44.  The  Fourth  district  began  in  1885  and 
has  graduated  28.  The  alumni  of  the  Ryan  high  school 
have  a  strong  association  and  keep  up  annual  reunions  and 
banquets.  Each  of  the  other  schools  maintains  its  alumni 
association,  which  does  good  service  in  sustaining  active 
interest  in  their  respective  schools. 

The  two  high  schools  have  libraries,  accessible  to  all  the 
pupils  of  the  district,  of  about  100  volumes  each.  The  other 
schools  have  smaller  libraries. 

The  report  of  last  year  shows  the  total  number  of  chil- 
dren between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty  years  of  age  is 
4,303,  of  whom  1,990  attended  the  public  school,  and  1,025 
are  reported  as  attending  private  schools  in  the  city.  Fifteen 
of  the  city  teachers  hold  state  certificates.  Fifty-three  teach- 
ers are  employed.  The  total  sum  expended  in  public  schools 
during  last  year  is  $48,892.  The  records  of  the  city  superin- 
tendent were  burned  in  1873,  thus  destroying  all  recorded 
history  of  the  schools  previous  to  that  date. 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  in  so  brief  a  sketch  more  than 
enough  to  bring  out  a  contrast  between  the  beginning  and 
the  present  condition  of  our  schools ;  to  suggest,  merely, 
some  of  the  difficulties  met  in  their  gro\vth,  and  to  indicate 
something  of  the  spirit  and  purpose  constantly  exhibited  by 
the  citizens  in  the  few  years  of  school  history,  looking  toward 
the  lietterment  of  the  people  of  the  city. 

I.  N.  Stewart. 


The   Fond  du  Lac   Public  Schools. 


The  first  school  house  in  the  city  of  Fond  du  Lac  was 
built  in  1843,  on  a  piece  of  land  owned  by  Dr.  M.  C.  Darl- 
ing, and  located  on  what  is  now  Main  street,  between  Second 
and  Third  streets.  It  was  a  small,  wooden  structure,  and,  in 
1848,  was  moved  to  the  north  side  of  Fifth  street,  between 
Marr  and  Main  streets,  and  near  the  present  Farnsworth  resi- 
dence. It  was  partially  destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  1848, 
and,  lots  becoming  more  valuable  in  that  vicinity,  the  black- 
ened shell  was  soon  removed  to  another  part  of  the  ^-illage, 
but  never  afterwards  used  for  school  purposes. 

The  first  teacher  to  try  his  skill  and  fortune  in  inspiring 
young  ideas  in  this  city  was  Theodore  Conkey,  afterward  of 
Appleton.  He  taught  in  the  modest  school  building,  but  did 
not  continue  long  in  the  work.  No  doubt,  he  was  called  to 
a  more  lucrative,  if  not  more  congenial,  field  of  labor,  and 
was  superseded  by  John  A.  Ea.stman,  who,  in  the  fall  of  1844, 
opened  a  "  select  school "  in  the  same  building.  Mr.  East- 
man's register  showed  an  enrollment  of  twenty  pupils,  not 
all  of  them,  however,  being  residents  of  Fond  du  Lac.  The 
first  free  public  school  in  this  city  was  organized  in  accord- 
ance with  an*act  of  the  territorial  legislature,  passed  in  the 
winter  of  1846,  and  was  known  as  the  Franklin  school.  The 
district  was  known  as  School  District  No.  1,  and  included  the 
village  and  town  of  Fond  du  Lac.  The  inhabitants  of  said 
school  district,  who  \\ere  qualified  by  law  to  vote,  were  author- 
ized to  raise  a  tax  not  exceeding  $2,000  in  any  one  year  for 
the  purpose  of  building  and  repairing  a  school  house,  pro- 
viding the  necessary  fixtures  and  appendages  thereto,  for  the 
payment  of  teachers'  wages,  for  fuel,  for  the  purchase  of  all 
needful  apparatus,  and  for  defraying  the  necessary  incidental 
expenses  for  keeping  the  school  in  operation. 

Three  years  later,  the  number  of  school  children  having 
increased  from  thirty  or  forty  to  100,  the  matter  of  providing 
better  accommodations  was  vigorously  agitated.  Several 
plans  were  proposed  to  secure  a  suitable  building — either 
building  anew  or  adding  to  the  old  structure — but  all  proved 
abortive.     Soon  after  tliis  agitation  developed,  the  board  of 

541 


542  THE  FOND  DU  LAC  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

trustees  and  superintendents  of  the  Franklin  school,  consist- 
ing of  Edward  Pier,  J.  A.  Eastman,  Isaac  Brown,  J.  M.  Gil- 
lett,  M.  C.  Gibson  and  M.  C.  Darling,  reported  a  set  of  by-laws 
for  the  government  of  the  school,  and  recommended  the 
erection  of  an  addition  to  the  school  house  for  primary  chil- 
dren, and  the  purchase  of  suitable  apparatus  for,  teaching 
and  illustrating  the  higher  branches  of  education  among 
which  we  may  mention  a  globe,  geographical  maps  and 
charts,  and  a  "planetarium."  The  same  authority  ordered 
that  every  Thursday  afternoon  be  set  apart  for  the  reception 
of  visitors  and  school  officers.  Neither  the  records  nor  tradi- 
tion furnish  the  least  hint  as  to  whether  these  receptions 
were  w^ell  attended  or  not. 

For  a  little  more  than  two  years,  or  until  March,  1848, 
the  Franklin  school  had  been  maintained  free  to  all  resi- 
dents of  the  district.  But  this  plan  proved  unsatisfactory, 
and,  at  the  latter  date,  the  bill  chartering  the  school  was 
amended  so  that  the  expenses  should  be  paid  by  the  pupils, 
at  a  rate  not  to  exceed  $1.50  each  for  a  term  of  three  months, 
the  debt  against  any  parent  or  guardian  to  be  collected  in 
the  same  manner  as  any  other  tax. 

The  affairs  of  the  Franklin  school  were  not  always  pros- 
perous, but,  from  a  good  beginning,  they  soon  fell  to  a  very 
unsatisfactory  condition,  and  rapidly  went  from  bad  to  worse 
until,  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  school  house  on  December  4, 
1848,  they  culminated  in  the  passage,  by  an  overwhelming 
majority,  of  a  resolution  to  raise  no  tax  whatever,  either  to 
pay  arrearages,  or  to  support  the  school  for  the  ensuing 
winter.  Eight  days  after  this  strange  action  of  the  voters,  by 
which  the  children  were  deprived  of  educational  facilities, 
the  school  house  was  totally  destroyed  by  fire.  Thus  ejided 
the  Franklin  school,  and  the  trials  through  which  it  passed 
are  only  such  as  may  come  to  all  educational  enterprises  before 
they  attain  strength  and  influence.  During  the  winter 
of  i848  and  1849,  owing  to  the  incident  narrated  above. 
Fond  du  Lac  had  no  school,  and,  in  July,  1849,  a  meeting, 
held  in  the  old  court  house  to  elect  school  officers  and  levy 
a  tax  of  $2,000  for  school  purposes,  adjourned  without 
effecting  its  purpose.  The  tax  of  $2,000  for  a  school  house 
was  considered  extravagant,  and  the  motion  in  its  favor 
was  summarily  tabled.  On  the  19th  of  November  following, 
F.  R.  Kinsman  was  secured,  "as  a  proper  person  to  teach 
youth,"  to  conduct  a  school  on  the  "normal  plan"  in  a 
building   rented   for  that    purpose  of  Mr.  Carmin  Wright; 


THE  FOND  DU  LAC  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  543 

and  the  next  year,  1850,  the  building  now  known  as  the 
Marr  street  school  house  was  erected.  It  was  then  the 
only  school-building  in  the  village.  Much  complaint  was 
made  because  this  school  house,  in  which  school  was  at  once 
opened  and  continuedregularly  thereafter,  was  made  so  large, 
but  in  a  short  time  it  was  found  to  be  too  small,  and,  in  1852, 
having  grown  out  of  its  village  clothes,  the  city  was  divided 
into  four  common  school  districts.  This  division  prevailed 
until  August,  1854,  when  E.  Hodges,  who  had  in  the  mean- 
time been  elected  city  superintendent  of  schools,  and  the 
officers  of  districts  Nos.  1,  2,  and  3,  issued  an  order  consoli- 
dating those  districts  into  one,  called  the  Union  district  No.  1, 
or  the  North  union  district.  Edmund  Delaney  was  elected 
director;  John  L.  Henry,  treasurer;  and  Robert  A.  Baker, 
clerk,  of  the  new  district,  and  bids  were  at  once  called  for  to 
build  a  school  house.  A  site  was  purchased  of  E.H.Galloway 
for  $500,  and  a  building,  costing  $2,000,  was  erected  on  the 
spot  now  occupied  by  Cotton  street  school  house.  At  the 
same  time,  district  No.  4  was,  by  the  proper  authority, 
changed  to  district  No.  2,  or  the  South  union  district,  now 
known  as  the  Marr  street  school.  Before  the  consolidation 
took  place,  the  reports  of  the  clerks  of  districts  Nos.  1,  2,  and 
3,  showed  a  school  attendance  of  203  pupils,  and  an  expense, 
for  ten  months  of  school,  of  $932,  which  was  nearly  equally 
divided  between  salaries  of  teachers  and  expenses  for  fuel 
and  other  purposes.  Those  two  old  and  familiar  landmarks 
— Marr  and  Cotton  streets  school  houses — are  still  standing 
and  utilized  for  school  purposes. 

School  matters  after  this  developed  a  deep  and  perman- 
ent interest,  and  both  North  and  South  union  districts  were 
well  patronized  and  supported,  and  ably  and  efficiently 
taught.  In  October,  1858,  the  citizens  of  the  two  districts  into 
which  the  city  was  divided  petitioned  for  the  establishment 
of  a  union  high  school ;  and  on  the  8th  of  October,  of  that 
year,  George  B.  Eastman,  superintendent  of  schools,  in 
accordance  with  the  expressed  desire  of  the  people,  formed 
such  district,  to  be  called  the  union  high  school  district  of  the 
city  of  Fond  du  Lac,  the  same  to  take  effect  at  once.  This 
act  cut  off  that  portion  of  the  town  of  Fond  du  Lac  which  had 
hitherto  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  the  village  and  city  schools, 
and,  by  the  authority  vested  in  him,  Mr.  Eastman  appointed 
Robert  A.  Baker,  clerk,  and  W.  H.  Hiner  and  B.  F.  Moore, 
directors,  of  the  new  district.  Those  officers  held  a  meeting 
in  Amory  hall  on  October  21,  1858,  and  authorized  $1,961.40 


544  THE  FOND  DU  LAC  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

to  be  raised  for  room  rent,  teachers'  wages  and  fuel.  Tuition 
was  fixed  at  $7  per  term  of  thirteen  weeks  for  non-resi- 
dents. 

The  first  high  school  in  the  city  was  organized  and 
opened  in  January,  1859,  in  what  was  known  as  the  Sewell 
store,  on  North  Main  street,  between  Johnson  and  ^Merrill 
streets,  with  Edwin  C.  Johnson  and  Miss  M.  S.  Merrill  as 
teachers.  The  teachers  and  the  nearest  streets  having  the 
same  names  led  to  many  A  joke  and  gibe  by  the  pupils  at 
the  expense  of  their  instructors.  The  school  opened  with 
nearly  one  hundred  students,  and  was  free  to  the  children  of 
residents  on  condition  that  they  could  pass  a  prescribed 
examination  in  geography,  grammar  and  arithmetic. 
Mr.  Johnson  resigned  in  1860,  and  his  place  Avas  filled 
by  Selim  H.  Peabody,  who  opened  the  school  in  the 
Marshall  block  on  Second  street.  The  location  was  changed 
the  next  year  to  the  Warner  block,  corner  Main  and  Second 
streets,  this  being  the  last  change  prior  to  the  erection  of  a 
high  school  building,  the  first  steps  to  secure  such  a  struct- 
ure having  been  taken  in  July,  1859. 

In  1862,  O.  C.  Steenburg  was  elected  principal  of  the 
high  school,  and  in  1864  he  was  chosen  city  superintendent 
of  schools,  in  addition  to  his  position  as  principal,  both  of 
which  positions  he  held  until  the  beginning  of  1869. 

In  January,  1860,  the  school  board  purchased  a  high 
school  site  of  S.  B.  Amory,  on  the  north  side  of  Merrill  street, 
and  east  of  Amory  street.  In  October,  1863,  a  bond  was  ex- 
ecuted to  raise  money  to  build  a  high  school  and  a  mortgage 
executed  to  Mr.  Amory ;  in  February,  1864,  a  plan  of  the 
proposed  building  was  accepted  and  the  contract  let  to  Wm. 
M.  Phelan  and  William  Heathcote ;  and,  the  structure  being 
rapidly  pushed  to  completion,  a  public  dedication  was  held, 
and  the  building  taken  possession  of  by  the  high  school,  with 
O.  C.  Steenburg  as  principal,  in  1865.  W.  D.  Conklin  deliv- 
ered an  interesting  dedicatory  address,  and  great  joy  and  en- 
thusiasm marked  the  entire  proceedings. 

In  1862-63  Mr.  Steenburg  was  authorized  to  grade  all 
the  schools  of  the  city,  and  to  make  a  course  of  study  to 
extend  over  a  period  of  thirteen  years  of  school  life  and  to 
embrace  every  possible  degree  of  advancement  in  scholarship. 
In  a  published  report  to  the  school  board  in  1867,  Mr.  Steen- 
burg recommended  and  urged  the  compulsory  attendance  at 
school  of  all  healthy  children  of  school  age,  this  being  the 
first  published  educational  document  in  this  state  contain- 


THE  FOND  DU  LAC  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  545 

ing  a   recommendation   for  the   passage   of  a   compulsory 
school  law. 

The  high  school  building,  above  referred,  to  was  three 
stories  high,  with  brick  outside,  and  had  a  seating  capacity 
nearly  equal  to  the  present  high  school. 

On  the  night  of  December  4,  1868,  the  building  was  en- 
tirely destroyed  by  fire,  and  from  then  until  September,  1873, 
the  high  school  was  continued  in  rented  rooms  on  South 
Main  street,  where  Post's  second-hand  store  now  stands,  and 
on  Forest  street,  now  occupied  by  Coughlin's  meat  market. 

In  the  above  month  and  year  the  present  splendid  four- 
story  structure  of  brick  and  stone  was  occupied  under  the 
principalship  of  Prof.  C.  A.  Hutchins.  The  present  high 
school  building  is  generally  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  finest 
in  the  state,  and  has  one  of  the  most  attractive  and  beautiful 
school  yards  in  the  Northwest.  The  building  contains  ten 
large  school-rooms,  a  fine  office,  a  large  and  very  pleasant 
assembly  room,  fine  halls,  commodious  wardrobes,  a  large 
and  choice  library,  a  rare  and  extensive  museum,  well- 
equipped  physical  and  chemical  laboratories,  and  a  well- 
furnished  and  well-patronized  reading-room.  The  school  is 
supported  with  the  most  conmiendable  generosity,  and  is 
conducted  with  great  thoroughness  and  efficiency.  It  af- 
fords the  best  commercial,  scientific  and  classical  advantages, 
and  its  graduates  are  numbered  among  the  most  cultured 
and  successful  men  and  women  of  the  state. 

Professor  Hutchins,  having  resigned  the  principalship  and 
city  superintendency  of  schools  in  1866,  was  succeeded  by 
Professor  I.  N.  Mitchell,  who  was,  in  1892,  succeeded  by  the 
present  incumbent,  Dr.  Ed.  McLoughlin. 

O.  C.  Steenburg  graduated  at  Union  college,  Schenectady, 
New  York,  in  1861,  and  has  for  many  years  past  been  the 
proprietor  of  a  large  sash,  door  and  blind  factory  in  this  city. 

Professor  C.  A.  Hutchins  was  educated  at  the  Norwalk, 
Ohio,  academy,  and  afterwards  pursued  his  studies  under  his 
brother  at  the  academy  and  at  home.  From  1858  to  1861  he 
taught  Latin  and  Greek  at  Wayland  university,  Beaver  Dam, 
Wisconsin.  He  had  charge  of  the  Janesville  schools  for  two 
years ;  of  the  Ionia  Michigan  schools  four  years  ;  the  schools 
of  Baraboo,  Wisconsin,  one  3'ear ;  was  count}'  superintend- 
ent of  schools  of  Sauk  county  two  years ;  principal  of  the 
Beloit  high  school  two  years,  and  is  now  assistant  state  su- 
perintendent of  schools  of  Wisconsin. 

Professor  I.  N.  Mitchell  graduated  from  Michigan  uni- 


546  THE  FOND  DU  LAC  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

versity,  Ann  Arbor,  and  for  several  years  prior  to  his  coming 
to  Fond  du  Lac  had  successful  charge  of  city  schools  in 
Michigan.  He  is  at  present  instructor  in  Latin  in  the  state 
normal  school  at  Milwaukee. 

Dr.  Ed.  McLoughlin  graduated  in  1875  at  the  Oshkosh 
normal  school.  He  was  principal  of  the  New  London  high 
school  from  1875  to  1878 ;  county  superintendent  of  schools 
of  Fond  du  Lac  county  from  1878  to  1886  ;  conductor  of 
teachers'  institutes  ten  years;  editor  of  the  Fond  du  Lac 
Journal  two  years ;  candidate  of  the  democratic  part}'  for 
state  superintendent  of  public  instruction  in  1888 ;  graduated 
from  Rush  medical  college  in  1890  with  the  honors  of  his 
class ;  was  elected  mayor  of  Fond  du  Lac  in  the  spring  of 
1892  ;  and  was  practicing  medicine  in  this  city  when  he  was 
elected  principal  of  the  high  school  and  city  superintendent 
of^chools. 

Fond  du  Lac  employs  forty-six  teachers,  all  capable  and 
competent,  several  of  whom  have  been  connected  with  the 
city  schools  for  twenty  years  and  upwards.  Those  engaged  in 
the  high  school,  besides  the  principal,  are  A.  W.  Phelps, 
teacher  of  Latin  and  Greek ;  Miss  Elizabeth  Waters,  geome- 
try, English  history  and  English  literature ;  F.  L.  Abbott, 
natural  sciences ;  Miss  Emma  D.  Everdell,  algebra,  sentential 
analysis  and  English  composition ;  and  Miss  Elizabeth  A. 
Eastman,  bookkeeping,  stenography  and  algebra. 

While  Fond  du  Lac  can  honestly  boast  of  an  excellent 
school  system  and  an  excellent  corps  of  teachers,  its  citizens 
carefully  avoid  calling  attention  to  its  school  houses,  aside 
from  the  High  and  First  street  buildings.  But  a  strong  and 
earnest  movement  is  already  under  way,  having  for  its  pur- 
pose the  division  of  the  city  into  five  or  six  districts  and  the 
construction  of  as  many  handsome,  comfortable  and  thor- 
oughly equipped  school  houses.  The  world's  fair  year  will 
undoubtedly  see  two  of  these  buildings  in  process  of  construc- 
tion.    Transeat  in  realitatem. 

Ed.  McLoughlin. 


Waukesha  Public  School  History. 


The  growth  of  the  pubHc  school  system  of  Waukesha  is 
an  evolution  of  a  distinctly  American  character,  and  com- 
prises so  short  a  term  of  years  as  to  make  its  study  a  com- 
paratively easy  task.  In  1834  there  was  not  a  building  in 
the  territory  now  included  within  the  boundaries  of  Wau- 
kesha, except  two  "  claim  shanties  "  constructed  of  poles  and 
serving  as  the  dwellings  of  Alonzo  R.  and  Morris  D.  Cutler. 
These  were  erected  in  the  early  summer  of  that  year,  one  of 
them  near  the  present  site  of  Blair's  iron  works,  and  the 
other  near  the  Indian  mounds  in  Cutler's  park.  In  1835  half  a 
dozen  more  pioneers  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  the  two  Cut- 
lers, two  of  them  courageously  bringing  their  wives  with 
them  to  "keep  house."  During  the  succeeding  year  the 
population  of  Waukesha  (then  called  Prairieville)  was  in- 
creased by  about  twenty  settlers,  some  of  them  having  fami- 
lies ;  and  a  little  private  school  Avas  established  in  the  winter 
1836-37,  at  which  probably  not  more  than  half  a  score  of 
pupils  were  gathered  together. 

The  tide  of  immigration  became  distinctly  promising 
in  the  spring  of  1837,  however,  and  the  settlers — all  of 
them  of  New  England  lineage — decided,  after  their  harvests 
were  completed,  to  found  a  public  school,  and  proceeded 
without  delay  to  carry  out  their  project.  A  piece  of  ground 
was  secured  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  near  the  present  crossing 
of  Xorth  street  and  Madison  avenue,  and  a  little  building  of 
tamarack  logs,  laid  in  the  usual  log-house  style,  was  com- 
pleted by  the  joint  labors  of  all  the  ambitious  settlers. 
Benches  and  long  desks  were  made  out  of  split  timber, 
smoothed  as  well  as  could  be  done  with  the  rude  tools  at 
hand ;  and,  a  tar  barrel  having  been  duly  lined  with  clay 
and  set  up  for  heating  purposes,  Mr.  John  Moore  Wells  was 
selected  to  preside  over  the  youthful  assemblage  in  the 
building  during  the  ensuing  \s4nter.  In  1838  the  census 
showed  a  population  of  about  150  at  Prairieville,  and  people 
kept  coming  from  month  to  month  thereafter ;  but  the  log 
school  house  did  duty  for  educational  purposes  for  ten  years, 
until  the   erection,   in  1847,   of  a  stone  school  house  at  the 

5J7 


548  WAUKESHA  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HISTORY. 

crest  of  the  same  hill  (where  there  is  now  a  diminutive  park). 
Into  this  building  about  80  scholars  could  be  crowded,  and 
it  served  the  purposes  of  a  public  school  building  for  the 
whole  village  for  three  years,  and  for  its  own  section  until 
1890. 

The  existence  of  Prairie ville  academy  and  other  private 
schools  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  delayed  the  division  of 
the  original  district  for  some  years  longer  than  would  have 
been  the  case  under  other  circumstances;  but  in  1850  the 
eighty  qualified  school  district  electors  living  on  the  easterly 
side  of  the  Fox  river,  in  the  old  district,  were  notified  to  attend 
the  preliminary  meeting  for  organization  of  a  new  district, 
"No.  12."  Among  the  names  of  voters  then  returned  are 
found  those  of  John  Gasper,  Fred  Slawson,  Andrew  Aitken, 
Isaac  Lain,  W.  D.  Bacon,  O.  Z.  Olin,  C.  Jackson,  David 
Howie  and  Silas  Ware,  still  living  at  Waukesha ;  Nelson 
Burroughs,  Dr.  Robert  Dunlap,  George  Hj^er,  G.  H.  Barstow, 
A.  W.  Randall  (afterwards  governor  of  Wisconsin  and  post- 
master-general), Wm.  S.  Hawkins,  Lemuel  White  and  A.  F. 
Pratt — all  subsequently  prominent  in  the  annals  of  Wauke- 
sha, but  now  deceased — and  H.  N.  Davis  (afterwards  state 
senator,  etc.,  father  of  Senator  C.  K.  Davis,  of  Minnesota) ;  E. 
M.  Randall  (at  one  time  chief  justice  of  the  appellate  court  of 
Florida),  and  Dr.  W.  D.  Holbrook,  all  still  living  in  other 
localities.  On  November  9,  1850,  the  committee,  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  reported  to  the  adjourned  school  meeting  of 
the  new  district  that  they  had  rented  ]Mrs.  Baker's  school 
house  for  sixteen  weeks  at  a  dollar  a  week,  and  the  school  was 
opened  very  soon  after.  The  first  annual  meeting  of  the  dis- 
trict, September  29,  1851,  placed  on  record  that  the  school 
had  been  kept  up  for  eight  and  one-fourth  months  during 
the  preceding  year,  that  S115.50  had  been  paid  for  teachers' 
wages,  $33.00  for  rent  of  school  room,  ^10.54  for  fuel,  and  19 
cents  for  a  broom,  making  the  aggregate  expenditure  for  the 
year  $159.23.  Several  adjourned  school  meetings  were  held 
during  October  and  November  of  the  same  year  to  decide  the 
question  of  purchasing  a  building  and  lot  for  school  pur- 
poses, with  the  final  result  of  buying  the  old  Episcopal 
church  building,  on  Barstow  street  between  South  and  Main 
streets,  with  the  lot  on  which  it  stood,  for  $490,  including 
certain  alterations. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  1852  the  whole  number  of  chil- 
dren in  the  district  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty  was 
reported  at  156,  of  whom  90  had  attended  the  public  school. 


WAU^JiESHA  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HISTORY.  549 

conducted  for  four  months  by  C.  S.  Hartwell  and  for  there 
and  one-half  months  by  Miss  M.  H.  Van  Vechten,  at  the 
respective  salaries  of  $28  and  $16  per  month.  The  total 
school  tax  of  the  year  had  been  $535,  and  the  total  expendi- 
tures, including  the  school  house  and  equipment  therefor, 
$692.  During  the  school  year  ending  in  September,  1853, 
there  were  ten  months  of  school,  equally  divided  between 
J.  O.  Potter  and  Miss  M,  A.  Olin,  as  teachers,  at  salaries  of 
$125.25  and  $87.21  respectively,  per  term  of  four  months. 

At  this  time  a  reorganization  of  the  district  took  place, 
and  as  then  constituted,  it  took  the  old  nomenclature  of  "  No. 
1,"  and  dropped  its  former  numerical  designation  of  "  12." 
Coincidently  with  this  change,  it  was  determined  that  a  new 
public  .school  building  should  be  erected  more  in  accord  with 
the  rapid  material  development  of  the  village.  A  great  con- 
test grew  out  of  this  determination,  one  party  desiring  to 
locate  the  proposed  building  on  a  small  lot  near  the  Presby- 
terian church,  while  the  other  wished  to  purchase  the  three- 
acre  lot  where  the  high  school  now  stands.  At  an  adjourned 
school  meeting,  held  October  10,  1853,  the  committee  in 
charge  reported  in  favor  of  buying  the  first-mentioned  lot  for 
$300,  but  after  voting  to  hire  the  basement  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian church  for  the  coming  winter  school,  the  meeting  was 
adjourned  \\'ithout  taking  action  on  the  committee's  report. 
On  October  24,  it  was  voted  to  raise  $2,000  for  a  new  school 
house,  and  on  December  17,  the  school  meeting  resolved  that 
"  it  is  expedient  to  purchase  three  acres  of  Cutler,  near  the 
grove  south  of  the  Baptist  church,  for  a  site  for  a  school 
house,"  and  also,  that  the  "  board  be  instructed  to  purchase 
stiid  site,  provided  the}'  can  obtain  it  for  the  sum  of  $600." 
At  the  next  adjourned  meeting,  December  24,  these  resolu- 
tions were  rescinded,  and  the  board  was  instructed  to  sell  the 
lot  opposite  the  Presbyterian  church — that  on  which  the  re- 
modeled Episcopal  church  school  house  already  stood — and 
to  buy  the  Cutler  three  acres. 

From  this  time  on,  school  meetings  were  held  weekly, 
and  seemed  to  have  been  the  principal  entertainment  of  the 
village  for  a  considerable  period.  On  .January  12,  1854,  the 
board  was  instructed  to  procure  a  warranty  deed  of  the  Cut- 
ler property,  and  on  February  11,  it  was  directed  to  proceed 
to  the  erection  of  a  school  house  there.  During  the  ensuing 
summer  one  member  of  the  board  moved  out  of  towfi  and 
another  resigned,  so  that  no  progress  appears  to  have  been 
made   with   the   proposed   new   building.     At   the   annual 


550  WAUKESHA  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HISTORY. 

meeting  of  September  1,  1854,  the  records  show  that  five 
months'  school  had  been  taught  during  the  preceding  year 
by  Mr.  ConkHn,  assisted  by  Miss  Ohn,  Miss  Jackson  and 
Miss  Thompson,  and  four  months  by  Mr.  O.  R.  Bacon, 
assisted  by  Miss  WilHams  and  Miss  Johnson.  The  gentle- 
man first  named  was  paid  $70  a  month  for  the  services  of 
himself  and  all  his  assistants,  and  the  latter  §72  for  his  own 
and  the  ladies'  work.  Fuel  for  that  year  cost  $25.25.  The 
text  books  used  in  the  school  were  McGufiey's  readers  and 
speller,  Morse's  and  Mitchell's  geographies,  Bullion's  En- 
glish grammar,  and  Thomson's,  Ray's  and  Colburn's  arith- 
metics. A.  F.  Pratt  offered  a  resolution  in  the  school  meet- 
ing to  rescind  the  instructions  of  February  11,  for  the  loca- 
tion of  the  school  house  on  the  Cutler  land,  and  the  ayes 
and  noes  were  called  and  are  still  on  record.  Twenty  elec- 
tors voted  for  Mr.  Pratt's  resolution  and  thirty-one  against 
it.  After  this  vote  there  was  plain  sailing,  $2,000  being 
promptly  appropriated  for  the  new  building,  and  the  board 
instructed  to  sell  the  grounds  belonging  to  the  district  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  to  contract  for 
the  erection  of  a  stone  school  house  in  the  middle  of  the 
three-acre  lot  just  purchased  from  Mr,  Cutler. 

O.  R.  Bacon  continued  as  principal  of  the  school  during 
the  next  year  at  $40  per  month,  with  two  assistants  at  $16 
and  $12  per  month  respectivel3\  In  the  meantime  the  new 
school  house,  a  substantial,  box-shaped  stone  building  which 
now  forms  the  nucleus  of  the  AVaukesha  high  school  struct- 
ure, was  completed  and  accepted.  In  December,  1855,  Prin- 
cipal Bacon  was  succeeded  by  A.  A.  Griffith,  who  received 
$70  a  month  and  had  three  assistants.  Mr.  Griffith  was  con- 
tinued as  principal  until  the  end  of  the  summer  term  of 
1857,  with  six  assistants  during  the  latter  year.  The  amount 
paid  for  teachers'  wages  for  the  year  ending  September  28, 
1857,  was  $2,081.15,  but  the  branches  taught  were  the  same 
as  in  1854,  with  the  addition  of  Green's  "Analysis."  The 
estimated  value  of  the  school  house  and  grounds  was  then 
reported  to  be  $8,000,  and  it  is  recorded  that  six  blackboards 
and  a  set  of  outline  maps  were  among  the  appurtenances  of 
the  school.  From  this  date  up  to  1862  there  was  little  to 
disturb  the  even  tenor  of  public  school  work.  In  1858,  635 
children  of  school  age  were  recorded,  of  whom  515  attended 
school.  Ira  Colby,  Jr.,  had  succeeded  Mr.  Griffith  at  a  sal- 
ary of  $800,  and  he  again  was  succeeded  by  J.  H.  Magoffin, 
the  following  year  by  E.  S."  Green  (1860),  A.  A.  Proctor 
(1861),  and  D.  T.  Potter  (1862). 


WAUKESHA  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HISTORY.  551 

At  tliis  juncture  there  was  a  feeling  among  some  of  the 
land  owners  of  the  district  that  school  taxes  were  getting 
pretty  high,  and  an  attempt  was  made  clandestinely  to  de- 
tach a  part  of  the  "mill  reserve"  from  the  territory  of  the 
district.  An  order  to  this  ejffect  was  obtained  from  the  town 
board  of  supervisors,  but  was  afterwards  nullified  by  the  state 
superintendent,  on  account  of  irregularities  in  the  proceed- 
ings. In  1864  a  similar  attempt  was  made  with  relation  to 
the  farm  of  A.  C.  Nickell,  and  with  precisely  similar  results. 
Good  male  teachers  were  hard  to  find  during  the  war,  and 
^liss  ^I.  J.  Dickerman  (afterwards  Mrs.  I.  N.  Stewart),  acted 
as  principal  in  1863  and  1864,  T.  N.  Wells  assuming  charge 
at  the  winter  term  of  the  year  last  mentioned,  and  giving 
place  to  Miss  Dickerman  again  in  the  fall  of  1865.  From 
the  local  newspapers  of  September,  1865,  it  seems  that  Mr. 
Wells  claimed  to  have  been  re-engaged  at  that  time  and  un- 
dertook to  teach  in  the  school  yard,  on  account  of  the  school- 
house  being  locked  against  him.  The  Waukesha  Plaindealer 
said :  "We  learn  that  Mr.  Wells  succeeded  only  in  getting 
through  the  picket  fence,  where  a  picket  was  broken  off,  but 
the  prevailing  fashion  prohibited  his  better  half  from  follow- 
ing him  through  the  hole.  Now,  Mr.  Wells,  take  our  advice, 
dry  up,  and  retire  to  some  new  field  where  your  talents  will 
be  appreciated.  You  know,  as  all  do,  that  your  contract  was 
executed  by  an  officer  whose  successor  had  already  been 
elected." 

No  advance  appears,  from  the  records,  to  have  been  made 
in  the  curriculum  of  the  school  for  the  ten  years  preceding 
1867,  and  the  annual  amount  paid  for  teachers'  wages  had 
decreased  during  that  time.  With  the  advent  of  Professor 
Alex.  F.  North  as  principal,  in  1866,  however,  a  new  era  be- 
gan, and  the  school  as  a  whole  never  afterwards  retrograded  in 
any  respect.  Mr.  North  was  one  of  the  most  energetic  and 
enthusiastic  of  the  old  school  of  teachers,  and  his  own  vim 
seemed  to  pervade  every  room  in  the  school  house  with  as- 
pirations for  the  best  results  attainable.  The  higher  mathe- 
matics were  given  a  place  among  other  studies,  history  and 
natural  science  were  not  deemed  unworthy  of  attention,  and 
the  school  became  a  busy,  though  a  somewhat  noisy,  work- 
shop. In  the  school  year  1867-8,  $2,560  were  paid  for  teach- 
ers' wages,  the  number  of  teachers  still  remaining  only  six ; 
and  the  old  indebtedness  of  S2,000,  which  had  been  outstand- 
ing ever  since  the  school  hou.se  was  built,  was  settled  in  full. 
After  three  vears  of    Professor  North's  administration.  Pro- 


552  WAUKESHA  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HISTORY. 

fessor  I.  N.  Stewart  took  charge  of  the  school,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1872,  by  Professor  W.  E.  Anderson  at  ^1,000  for  the 
first  year  and  |1,200  for  the  second,  third  and  fourth  years 
respectively,  at  the  end  of  which  period  he  was  called  to  the 
principalship  of  one  of  the  Milwaukee  ward  schools,  and 
afterwards  became  the  superintendent  of  all  the  schools  of 
that  city.  A.  A.  Miller,  a  graduate  of  Milton  college,  assumed 
charge  in  1877  and  continued  as  principal  until  1883,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  Protessor  George  H.  Reed,  whose  serv- 
ices have  been  retained  ever  since  in  the  same  capacity  at  a 
salary  of  $1,200  at  the  outset,  which  has  been  increased  to 
$1,500  annually.  The  curriculum  now  embraces  a  complete 
high  school  course,  including  Latin;  and  three  additional 
commodious  and  elegant  school  buildings,  in  various  parts  of 
the  village,  perfectly  equipped  in  every  respect,  serve  as 
tributaries  to  the  main  school,  now  enlarged  to  a  capacity  for 
the  accommodation  of  over  600  pupils,  and  provided  with 
the  finest  school  grounds  in  the  state. 

It  remains  now  to  trace  the  development  of  the  Union 
school  district  in  its  material  and  business  aspect  from  the 
establishment  of  the  first  stone  building  on  the  three-acre 
site  "  in  the  grove  south  of  the  Baptist  church."  By  1870 
the  pressure  of  population  in  the  Union  school,  as  it  had 
then  come  to  be  called,  was  a  matter  hard  to  deal  with,  and 
on  July  26,  of  that  year,  it  was  decided  to  enlarge  the  main 
building  by  an  addition  at  the  rear,  transverse  to  the  original 
structure  and  of  the  same  height  and  material,  at  a  cost  not 
to  exceed  $3,500.  This  work  was  soon  completed  and  afforded 
temporary  relief  from  the  crowded  condition  of  the  pupils. 
At  the  school  meeting  of  1872  it  was  reported  that  eight 
teachers  had  been  employed  during  the  year  at  an  aggregate 
cost  of  $3,463,  that  the  school-rooms  had  been  refurnished 
and  that  $229.45  had  been  expended  in  planting  young 
maples  and  elms  on  the  school  grounds.  At  that  meeting 
also  Mr.  A.  J.  Frame,  the  present  district  treasurer,  began 
his  term  of  service  as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  which 
has  continued  ever  since  with  the  exception  of  one  year's  in- 
terval (from  1876  to  1877).  This  is  the  longest  service  on 
the  school  board  which  appears  to  the  credit  of  any  one  per- 
son, and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  every  advance  mad& 
in  the  village  school  system  since  1872  has  either  originated 
with  Mr.  Frame  or  had  his  hearty  and  earnest  co-operation 
and  support. 

In  1884  the  work  of  building  a  new  front  to  the  main 


WAUKESHA  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  HISTORY.  553 

building,  raising  the  old  stone  building  four  feet,  and  making 
a  basement  for  the  whole,  was  undertaken,  and  carried  out  in 
1886  at  an  expense  of  $15,000,  making  the  building  one  of 
the  finest  in  architectural  features,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
convenient  and  roomy,  of  any  in  the  West.  In  1886  also 
the  original  district  was  again  united  by  the  annexation  of 
the  portion  west  of  the  river,  and  in  1887  the  Hadfield  school 
building  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of  $11,000.  In  1889  the 
district  was  further  enlarged  by  attaching  that  part  of  joint 
school  district  No.  6  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Fountain  Springs 
hotel,  and  a  new  school  building  established  in  the  Hyde 
park  addition,  and  named  the  Blair  school,  costing  $11,000. 
In  the  same  year  the  old  Union  school  became  a  high  school 
under  the  state  law.  In  1891  the  new  school  house  on  White 
Rock  avenue  was  added  to  the  system  at  a  further  expenditure 
of  $7,500,  since  which  time  there  have  been  no  important 
changes.  The  total  value  of  school  sites  in  the  district  (ex- 
clusive of  an  independent  public  school  on  "the  Flats"),  is  re- 
ported by  the  board  as  being  $22,300,  and  that  of  the 
buildings  at  $43,000,  though  the  actual  values  are  believed 
to  be  considerably  greater.  A  valuable  library  .is  a  part  of 
the  equipment  of  the  district,  and  it  has  the  latest  and  best 
paraphernalia  for  teaching.  Twenty  teachers  were  employed 
last  year,  under  the  general  supervision  of  Professor  Reed,  at 
a  total  cost  of  $10,205,  and  the  other  expenditures  amounted 
to  nearly  $9,000.  The  whole  number  of  children  of  school 
age  in  the  district  at  the  enumeration  of  1892  was  1,387,  and 
the  number  actually  in  attendance  at  school  during  the  pre- 
ceding year  was  1,069.  The  school  board  now  consists  of 
Frank  R.  Fuller,  director;  Ira  Kimball,  clerk,  and  A.  J. 
Frame,  treasurer.  Under  the  generous  system  now  in 
effective  operation,  young  people  are  fully  prepared  for  en- 
trance into  the  university,  in  some  classes  to  advanced  stand- 
ing. Of  the  many  things  of  which  Waukesha  has  occasion 
to  be  proud,  by  no  means  the  least  are  her  admirable  public 
schools. 

Theron  W.  Haight. 


The  Eau  Claire  Public  Schools. 


EAST   EAU   CLAIRE  DISTRICT    NO.  2. 

The  first  elements  of  civilization  in  Eau  Claire  county 
came  in  1854.  Land  was  first  entered  in  this  year,  and  in 
1855  a  few  families  were  found  in  Bridge  Creek  and  the 
vicinity  of  Eau  Claire.  The  town  of  Eau  Claire  was  east  of 
the  Chippewa  and  south  of  the  Eau  Claire  river,  at  the 
junction  of  the  two  streams.  The  land  north  of  the  Eau 
Claire  was  constituted  a  town,  named  North  Eau  Claire,  and 
that  west  of  the  Chippewa  formed  two  towns.  Half  Moon 
and  Oak  Grove,  which  were  called  a  union  district.  Three 
school  districts  were  therefore  organized  in  these  four  towns, 
which  were  closely  joined  together,  and  now  constitute  the 
city  of  Eau  Claire.  These  school  districts  were  unchanged 
when  the  city  charter  was  obtained,  and  remained  separate 
until  the  consolidation  in  1889. 

There  had  been  a  small  saw-mill  on  the  Eau  Claire 
river  for  ten  years,  owned  by  Reed  and  Gage,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1856,  one  log  house  was  to  be  found  here.  The 
following  winter  witnessed  the  erection  of  perhaps  twenty 
dwellings  in  consequence  of  the  coming  of  as  many  families. 
The  question  of  school  accommodation  was  early  discussed, 
and  in  December,  1856,  a  school  district  was  organized.  In 
that  month  the  first  school  house  was  built  of  green  pine 
boards,  16x24,  with  a  board  roof.  In  that  room  religious 
meetings  were  held  every  Sabbath,  until  the  next  autumn. 
The  first  teacher  was  Miss  Mary  Arnold,  who  taught  the 
school  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1857.  This  district  and 
population  were  in  the  first  settlement  east  of  the  Chippewa 
and  south  of  the  Eau  Claire  rivers.  This  school  house  was 
superseded  in  the  autumn  of  1857  by  a  one-story  building 
of  primitive  style,  and  the  first  teacher  employed  therein 
was  a  Mr.  Fletcher.  When  this  house  proved  insufficient, 
another  room  was  obtained  on  Farwell  street,  and  two  de- 
partments were  organized. 

Very  early  in  the  educational  history  of  this  city,  1858, 
Professor  C.  H.  Allen  came  here  to  conduct  a  teachers'  insti- 

554 


THE   EAU   CLAIRE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  555 

tute.  It  was  a  marked  success,  and  was  followed  by  others, 
which  gave  new  impetus  to  the  cause  of  education  in  city 
and  country. 

Rev.  A.  Kidder  was  elected  first  county  superintendent 
of  Eau  Claire  county,  according  to  provision  made  by  the 
state  legislature  in  1861,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the 
office  December,  1862.  All  the  school  districts  of  the  county 
were  visited,  and  lectures  were  given  having  special  refer- 
ence to  practical  teaching  work,  and  particularly  to  reading, 
in  which  the  methods  and  practice  had  been  most  imperfect. 

Professor  J.  L.  Pickard  had  been  elected  state  superin- 
tendent of  schools  in  1860.  He  convened  the  county  super- 
intendents of  these  northwestern  counties  in  Eau  Claire  in 
1862,  and  gave  such  direction  to  their  work  in  examinations 
as  to  secure  as  much  uniformity  as  possible.  The  institute 
work  introduced  by  Professor  C.  H.  Allen  became  very  pop- 
ular, and  institutes  were  held  in  succeeding  years  by  Super- 
intendent Pickard,  Professor  Allen  and  Professor  J.  C.  Pick- 
ard. These  were  most  important  factors  in  the  progress  of 
education  in  this  vicinity.  In  1864  a  large  and  commodious 
school  building  was  erected  on  Farwell  street,  and  three 
rooms  on  the  lower  floor  were  finished  and  furnished.  In 
this  building  .J.  C.  Barrett  was  the  first  teacher,  followed  in 
the  spring  of  1865  by  Mr.  H.  C.  Rowland.  Three  assistant 
teachers  were  employed;  and  the  next  year  all  the  rooms,  six 
in  number,  were  finished  and  occupied,  so  rapid  was  the 
growth  of  this  place.  In  1872  twenty-five  hundred  dollars 
was  raised  by  taxation  for  additions  to  and  repairs  upon  this 
school  house.  The  building  was  raised  for  a  nine-foot  base- 
ment, two  heating  furnaces  put  in  it  and  a  good  system  of 
ventilation  introduced.  The  house  now  had  seven  good 
school-rooms,  and  some  years  later  a  large  addition  was  made 
to  these. 

Under  Mr.  Rowland's  administration,  with  a  most  ef- 
ficient corps  of  teachers  and  the  aid  of  the  count}'  superin- 
tendent and  numerous  institutes,  new  methods  of  instruction 
were  adopted.  Advanced  methods  of  teaching  were  now 
introduced  throughout  the  county. 

In  1882  six  lots  were  purchased  in  the  Eau  Claire  Lumber 
Company's  6th  addition  to  the  village  of  Eau  Claire,  and  in 
1883  a  building  was  erected  there  at  a  cost  of  $3,000,  known 
as  the  Thorp  school.  In  1884  a  building  was  erected  in  the 
south  part  of  the  Third  ward,  at  a  cost  of  $1,500,  to  accom- 
modate the  priniary  pupils  of  that  ward,  and  named  the 
Lock  wood  school. 


556  THE   EAU   CLAIRE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

In  1887  free  text-books  were  provided  for  pupils  by  the 
district.  In  1889  the  high  schools  of  East,  West  and  North 
Eau  Claire  were  united  and  formed  thenceforward  the 
high  school  of  Eau  Claire,  under  the  management  of  a  board 
of  education. 

The  following  item  upon  the  school  records  is  worthy 
of  insertion  in  this  history : 

Resolved,  Whereas  the  Honorable  William  P.  Bartlett  has 
been  identified  with  the  schools  of  our  city,  since  it  was  a  small 
village  on  the  borders  of  civilization,  and  has  watched  over  them 
with  fatherly  care,  nursing  them  from  infancy,  until  to-day  they 
will  compare  with  any  in  the  state  of  the  same  grade  ;  and 
whereas,  it  becomes  the  privilege  of  the  citizens  to  show  marks 
of  respect  to  officers  who  never  fail  in  their  duty,  even  when 
such  services  are  rendered  without  compensation.  Therefore 
be  it 

Resolved,  By  the  electors  of  school  district  No.  2,  city  of 
Eau  Claire,  this  2nd  day  of  July,  1888,  that  the  school  site, 
known  as  the  high  school  of  the  village  of  Eau  Claire,  be  and  is 
to  be  hereafter  known  as  the  Bartlett  school." 

Mr.  Bartlett  had  served  the  district  as  director  for 
twenty-nine  years. 

DISTRICT  NO.  1. WEST  EAU  CLAIRE. 

The  village  of  Eau  Claire  consisted  of  land  entered 
by  Adin  Randall  and  platted  in  1856.  The  school  district 
was  organized  in  1858  and  the  first  school  taught  in  a  small 
room  on  Chippewa  street.  This  was  the  joint  district  of 
Half  Moon  and  Oak  Grove.  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1858,  a 
school  house,  30x40  feet,  was  built  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  ave- 
nue and  Broadway,  consisting  of  two  stories.  The  lower 
story  was  soon  completed,  and  a  school  conducted  by  Rev.  A. 
Kidder,  then  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church,  followed 
by  Mr.  R.  El  well.  In  the  fall  of  1862,  Rev.  A.  Kidder,  hav- 
ing resigned  his  pastorate,  was  chosen  as  principal  of  the 
school.  In  1863  the  upper  story  of  the  building  was  finished, 
and  the  first  graded  school  of  two  departments  was  instituted, 
and  continued  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Kidder  for  four 
vears.  He  was  succeeded  bv  Mr.  Tillotson  and  Mr.  C.  D. 
Tillinghast. 

In  1860  a  primary  school  house  was  built  at  Shawtown, 
consisting  of  one  room.  In  1869  a  central  school  house  was 
built  on  the  site  of  the  old  one,  which  was  removed  to  an  ad- 
joining lot.  The  new  building  contained  four  good  rooms 
on  the  first  story  and  three  above.     The  building  known  as 


THE   EAU   CLAIRE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  557 

the  Washington  school  was  veneered  with  brick  and  was  at 
that  time  the  finest  in  the  city,  heated  by  hot-air  furnace  and 
well  ventilated.  Mr.  Buell  was  the  first  principal  in  this 
house,  entering  in  1869,  and  remaining  for  two  years.  In 
1871  Professor  A.  J.  Hutton  became  the  principal.  A  high 
school  department  was  now  established  and  a  regular  cur- 
riculum of  study  arranged  in  harmony  with  the  university 
courses  at  Madison.  He  held  this  position  for  eight  years 
with  marked  success,  and  few,  if  any,  schools  in  the  state  sur- 
passed this  under  his  administration. 

The  growth  of  the  city  northward  was  so  rapid  that  in 
.1874  a  substantial  house  was  built  in  the  Sixth  ward,  costing 
$3,000.  In  two  years  it  was  destroyed  by  lightning,  but 
speedily  replaced  and  soon  filled  to  overflowing.  It  is  now 
known  as  the  Lincoln  school.  In  1882  the  district  secured 
the  Methodist  seminary  lot  and  building,  in  which  a  private 
school  had  once  been  maintained  for  a  few  years  by  the 
Methodist  church.  It  was  an  excellent  location.  This  is  now 
the  Garfield  school. 

In  1884  the  Alexander  school  was  built  nearly  opposite 
the  Washington  school,  at  a  cost  of  $3,000. 

In  1885  the  Playter  school  house  was  built  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  city.  In  1889  a  large  addition  was  made  to 
the  Lincoln  school  house,  which  now  contains  seven  depart- 
ments, under  the  'charge  of  Mrs.  J.  C.  Sherwin,  principal.  In 
1891  a  school  house  was  built  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
city,  on  Menomonie  street,  at  a  cost  of  $1,000. 

For  two  years  rooms  have  been  rented  on  Water  street 
to  accommodate  two  departments  for  which  room  could  not 
be  found  in  the  school  ])uildings. 

During  the  summer  of  1890  the  Garfield  building  was 
moved  to  the  southwest  corner  of  the  lot,  repaired  and  refitted 
for  the  occupancy  of  the  high  school  until  the  proposed  new 
edifice  should  be  ready. 

On  the  resignation,  in  1879,  of  Prof.  Hutton,  to  teach  in 
the  normal  school  at  Platteville,  J.  K.  McGregor  was  ap- 
pointed to  fill  the  vacancy.  He  held  the  position  until  the 
consolidation  of  the  city  schools,  in  1889,  when  he  was  elected 
city  superintendent  of  schools.  M.  S.  Frawley  at  that  time 
took  the  place  of  principal  of  the  city  high  school. 

A  proposition  to  establish  a  manual  training  department 
was  brought  before  the  school  board  in  July,  1884,  by  Com- 
missioner Ellis.  Eight  hundred  dollars  were  raised  to  defray 
the  expenses,  and  the  lower  rooms  of  the  Alexander  school 


558  THE   EAU   CLAIRE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

fitted  up  for  the  purpose.  Three  double  benches,  costing 
$55,  with  two  sets  of  tools  for  each  bench — consisting  of 
chisels,  gauges,  planes,  squares,  etc. — were  provided.  Classes 
were  formed  of  forty  pupils  each,  working  in  relays  of  ten. 
Three  lessons  per  week  were  given  in  shop  work  and  two  in 
mechanical  drawing. 

Mr.  Kneely,  a  granduate  from  the  St.  Louis  manual 
training  school,  was  the  first  teacher.  Mr.  Kneely  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mr.  Barnes,  a  graduate  of  the  same  school.  Dur- 
ing the  first  year  of  his  instruction,  blacksmithing  was  added 
to  the  department,  and  a  shop  was  fitted  up  with  forges  and 
all  necessary  appliances  for  the  work,  at  a  cost  of  $80. 
A  wood  lathe  and  an  iron  lathe,  foot  power,  were  added  at  a 
cost  of  $85.  After  two  years,  Mr.  Barnes  resigned  and  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  Joseph  Swearingen,  a  graduate  of  Terre 
Haute  manual  training  school.  Additional  outfitting  of 
tools  was  added  and  a  regular  course  of  study  was  arranged 
for  this  department,  including  forty  exercises  in  wood- work, 
twenty-eight  in  iron  work,  and  turning  in  both  wood  and  iron, 
and  a  course  of  engraving. 

The  enrollment  for  1892  is  as  folloAvs:  Boj^s,  73;  girls, 
18;  total,  91.  In  drawing  classes:  Boys,  73;  girls,  9;  total, 
82.  In  shop-work:  Boys,  73;  in  forging,  5;  in  wood  carving, 
girls,  14. 

During  the  week  ending  March  6,  18^2,  the  attendance 
from  the  high  school  was  31 ;  from  the  eighth  grade,  16 ; 
from  the  seventh  grade,  23,  a  total  of  70. 

The  writer,  who  was  present  when  the  project  for  add- 
ing this  department  was  first  considered,  was  doubtful  as  to 
its  success  or  permanency;  but  after  a  few  visits  to  the  shop 
became  fully  convinced  of  its  value,  and  an  earnest  advocate 
of  its  support. 

Some  pupils  who  have  little  taste  for  books,  have  me- 
chanical ability,  and  are  kept  from  truancy  by  their  love  for 
the  work.  Many  acquire  skill  that  enables  them  to  secure 
occupation  at  fair  wages,  upon  leaving  school.  The  leading 
principles  of  mechanical  work,  and  the  use  of  tools  in  prac- 
tical work,  are  well  taught.  The  knowledge  acquired  in 
this  department  is  carried  into  practice  in  many  homes,  con- 
veniences are  secured,  a  love  of  art  fostered,  and  a  respect  for 
labor  promoted.  These  are  a  few  of  the  advantages  already 
manifest  from  the  successful  operation  of  this  department. 

The  new  high  school  building  has  been  well  equipped 
with  rooms  and  apparatus  for  carrying  on  this  branch  of 


THE   EAU   CLAIRE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  559 

work  in  its  various  forms,  and  it  is  hoped  that  increased  in- 
terest will  be  given  to  this  department,  which  is  now  open 
to  all  pupils  of  the  city.  This  was  the  first  school  in  the 
state  to  introduce  manual  training  into  its  regular  work. 

Institutes  for  the  teachers  of  this  city  and  county  have 
been  frequently  held  here,  lasting  from  four  days  to  two 
weeks.  The  best  teachers  of  the  state  have  been  secured  as 
leaders  of  these,  and  much  lasting  benefit  has  been  derived 
by  those  who  have  attended  them. 

DISTRICT   NO.  1. — NORTH   EAU  CLAIRE. 

This  district  was  organized  in  1859.  Miss  Marianne 
Lawler  was  the  first  teacher.  The  school  was  then  held  in 
a  frame  building,  afterward  used  for  a  store  on  the  present 
site  of  E.  Burkhardt's  Central  Hotel.  Various  buildings 
were  rented  for  school  purposes  until  1872,  when  a  good 
brick  building,  costing  $6,700,  was  erected  on  the  present  site. 
This  house  was  destroyed  by  fire  September  30,  1875,  and  re- 
built that  year,  at  a  cost  of  |6,500.  The  school  had  been 
graded,  and  was,  in  1873,  under  the  charge  of  Principal  A. 
M.  Graves,  with  two  assistants.  In  1875  Thomas  F.  Fraw- 
ley  was  principal,  and  he  was  succeeded  in  ]880  by  his 
brother,  M.  S.  Frawley. 

The  property  owned  by  the  Catholic  parish  school  was 
purchased  by  thfe  city  school  board  and  the  school-house 
thereupon  is  known  as  the  Frawley  school.  The  Summit 
street  school  was  built  in  1886,  the  Dells  Mills  school  in 
1870.  The  records  of  the  district  have  suffered  severe  loss 
from  fire,  and  this  is,  therefore,  but  an  imperfect  sketch  of  an 
important  branch  of  Eau  Claire  schools. 

HIGH    SCHOOL    BUILDING. 

During  the  summer  of  1892,  the  question  of  a  new  high 
school  building  was  under  consideration  by  the  board  of  ed- 
ucation. The  plans  of  Architect  S.  D.  Allen,  of  Minneapolis, 
were  accepted.  The  building  consists  of  basement,  first  and 
second  stories  and  attic.  The  basement  is  of  Dunville  gray 
sandstone,  twelve  feet  in  clear,  and  contains  a  room  for 
blacksmith's  shop  or  forge-room,  26x50 ;  a  carpenter's  shop, 
23x40 ;  a  chemical  laboratory,  20x25 ;  room  for  heating  ap- 
paratus, coal  and  wood,  and  suitable  halls,  all  well  lighted. 
All  the  floors  of  this  basement  are  of  concrete  and  cement. 

The  first  story  contains  two  class-rooms,  26x29.6 ;  two 
class-rooms,  20x23  ;  one  class-room  26x32.6,  with  cloak-rooms, 


560  THE   EAU   CLAIRE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

6x11 ;  one  class-room  27x30;  one,  16x25;  superintendent's 
office,  16x25 ;  secretary's  office,  16x25,  with  vault  and  ward- 
robe ;  two  large  cloak-rooms,  22|x2-l| ;  a  drawing-room  19x 
20.  The  south  front  is  191  feet  in  length,  the  east  and  north 
ninety-four.  On  the  southeast  and  northeast  corners  are  well- 
built  circular  towers. 

The  main  entrance,  on  the  south  side,  presents  an  im- 
posing appearance,  as  also  the  east  and  north  entrances,  all 
having  arched  doorways  of  cut  limestone,  and  all  leading 
into  spacious  halls.  Two  stairways  lead  to  the  second  story 
from  the  east  and  south  entrances.  The  second  floor  con- 
tains five  class-rooms,  a  drawing-room  with  side  and  roof 
lights  and  an  assembly-room  40x50,  lighted  from  side  and 
roof. 

The  floors  of  the  first  and  second  stories  are  double,  the 
upper  one  of  maple  or  birch,  two  inches  wide,  well  finished 
in  oil,  and  floors  at  entrance  are  tiled.  All  inside  finish  is  in 
oak  ;  stairs,  railing,  doors,  wainscots,  finely  finished.  All  the 
doors  have  large  transoms  opening  into  the  halls,  and  all  out- 
side doors  swing  outward.  From  the  main  hall  to  the  rear 
of  the  building  is  a  hall  six  feet  wide  with  a  large  window  at 
the  end  opening  upon  a  platform  with  fire-escape. 

On  each  floor  are  two  marble  drinking-fountains,  also 
wash-rooms,  sinks  and  water-closets,  all  connected  with  city 
sewers,  and  supplied  from  city  water-works.  The  building 
is  heated  by  hot  air  from  steam  engime,  forced  through  the 
rooms  by  fans,  and  is  well  lighted  by  gas  and  by  electricity. 

The  third  story  is  finely  adapted  for  gymnasium  uses 
and  will  be  fitted  for  that  purpose. 

This  building  is  of  brick,  with  trimmings  and  window- 
sills  of  gray  limestone — the  outside  tier  of  a  uniform  red, 
laid  in  red  mortar.  The  partitions  are  of  brick  and  the  whole 
as  nearly  fire-proof  as  circumstances  will  admit.  The  loca- 
tion of  this  building  is  excellent,  centrally  placed  on  the  line 
of  the  street  car  service,  with  room  for  a  fine  lawn  on  all 
sides.  The  whole  cost,  including  heating  apparatus,  gas  and 
electric  fixtures  and  school-room  furniture,  is  about  $40,000. 
This  edifice,  of  which  the  citizens  of  Eau  Claire  are  justly 
proud,  was  formally  dedicated  to  its  future  use,  on  .January 
27,  1893,  the  dedicatory  address  being  delivered  by  Dr.  G.  K. 
Adams,  president  of  the  university  of  Wisconsin. 

The  following  statistics  are  from  the  last  (1892)  annual 
report  of  the  city  superintendent : 


THE   EAU   CLAIRE    PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  561 

Whole  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  the  city 5,745 

Whole  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  public  schools 3,440 

Number  of  volumes  in  the  school  library 551 

Total  expenditures  for  schools  during  the  year $49,026;62 

Number  of  school  houses  owned  by  the  city 15 

Number  of  private  schools  in  the  city 8 

Number  registered  in  them  who  have  not  been  in  the  public 

schools 813 

Highest  salary  paid  to  male  teachers  during  the  year ^^i^'^^ 

Highest  salary  paid  to  female  teachers  during  the  year $675 

A.  Kidder. 


The  Public  Schools  of  Florence. 


In  reviewing  the  development  of  the  public  school  in 
Florence,  one  is  impressed  with  that  rapid  growth,  from 
crude  beginnings  to  an  ordered  system,  typical  of  Western  life. 
For  it  was  in  the  spring  of  1880  that  the  village  of  Florence 
was  platted,  in  what  was  then  a  wilderness  of  pine  trees,  with 
a  single  trail  passing  around  the  east  side  of  the  forest  lake. 
Yet,  with  this  location,  within  three  miles  of  the  extreme 
northeastern  boundary  of  Wisconsin — the  very  farthest  from 
the  center  of  the  strong  currents  of  her  commercial  and  in- 
tellectual life,  and  to-day,  with  no  town  of  importance,  nor 
any  but  scattered  settlements,  within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles, 
the  schools  of  Florence  present  no  discreditable  differences  in 
method  or  equipment  from  the  schools  of  "  old  "  New  Eng- 
land, as  is  repeatedly  testified  by  traveling  visitors. 

It  is  this  region,  with  its  mines  and  forests,  of  which 
Whittier  wrote  those  prophetic  lines : 

"  I  hear  the  mattock  in  the  mines,  ^ 

The  axe  stroke  in  the  dell. 


I  hear  the  tread  of  pioneers 

Of  nations  yet  to  be  ; 
The  first  low  wash  of  waves,  where  soon 

Shall  roll  a  human  sea. 

The  rudiments  of  empire  here 

Are  plastic  yet  and  warm  ; 
The  chaos  of  a  mighty  world 

Slow  rounding  into  form  ! 

Each  rude  and  jostling  fragment  soon 

Its  fitting  place  shall  find, — 
The  raw  material  of  a  state, 

Its  muscle  and  its  mind." 

And  the  most  hopeful  guaranty  of  the  final  right  devel- 
opment of  our  community,  is  in  the  certainty  that  the  "  rude 
and  jostling  fragment,"  public  education,  is  so  rapidly  find- 
ing its  "  fitting  place  "  among  our  social  institutions,  that  the 

562 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  FLORENCE. 


563 


"  mind  "  keeps  pace  in  its  grow-th  with  the  '*  muscle  "  of  our 
community,  and  exerts  that  strong,  that  god-hke  guidance 
which  makes  man  higher  than  the  brutes. 

The  following  sketch  will  show  the  various  stages  of  the 
material  growth  and  of  the  development  of  the  course  of 
study  in  the  Florence  schools,  from  the  fall  of  1880  to  the 
fall  of  1892. 

As  has  been  stated,  the  village  was  platted  in  the  spring 
of  1880.  At  that  time  Florence  was  not  only  in  the  same 
county  and  township,  but  was  in  the  same  school  district  as 
Marinette,  eighty  miles  distant,  by  the  nearest  road ;  and  in 
the  fall  of  this  year  the  Marinette  school  board  erected  a 
school  house  in  Florence  and  supplied  one  teacher.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  the  public  school  in  Florence. 


FliORENCE   PUBLIC  SCHOOL. 


In  the  fall  of  the  next  year  an  addition  to  the  ^building 
was  made,  and  the  schools  began  with  two  departments  and 
two  teachers,  E.  L.  Parmenter,  now  commissioner  of  schools 
in  Dickinson  county,  Michigan,  being  principal.  By  act  of 
legislature  in  February,  1882,  Florence  county  was  organ- 
ized, and  the  schools  were  brought  under  local  control.  The 
Marinette  board  withdrew  their  teachers  to  Marinette  and 
there  was  no  school  in  Florence  for  the  remaining  four 
months  of  the  school  year — the  only  time  in  the  history  of 
the  town  that  its  schools  have  been  closed  out  of  season. 

An  important  election  was  held,  in  the  fall  of  1882,  on 
the  question  of  adopting  the  '•  township  system  "  of  school 
government,  resulting  in  favor  of  the  system.     The  board  of 


564  THE   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF   FLORENCE. 

supen'isors  immediately  divided  the  town  into  two  sub-dis- 
tricts and  appointed  D.  A.  Graham  clerk  of  sub-district  No. 
1,  and  H.  D.  Fisher  of  No.  2.  These  clerks  met  and  elected 
H.  D.  Fisher,  president,  D.  A.  Graham,  vice-president  and 
A.  K.  Godshall,  secretary,  thus  completing  the  organization 
of  the  first  board  of  school  directors  for  the  town  of  Florence. 
Three  teachers  were  engaged  to  begin  school  in  Septem- 
ber, 1882,  a  part  of  the  town  hall  being  used  for  a  school- 
room. The  next  spring  the  school  house  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  but  was  immediately  replaced  by  a  building  of  two  de- 
partments. During  this  year  bonds  for  $8,000  were  voted, 
and  the  present  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $10,000, 
making  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  our  schools.  The  build- 
ing was  opened  for  use  in  the  first  week  in  January,  1884, 
with  four  departments  running.  In  1886  the  number  was 
increased  to  five;  two  years  later  to  six,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1891  it  M'as  found  necessary  to  add  the  seventh.  In  1885 
sub-district  No.  3,  and  in  1887  sub-district  No.  4,  were  created 
and  a  building  erected  in  each  at  an  expense  of  $300,  in  or- 
der to  accommodate  families  in  the  settlements ;  and  school 
has  been  maintained  in  each  since  those  dates. 

In  1890  furnaces  were  placed  in  the  basement  of  the 
city  building  and  the  rooms  heated  with  hot  air.  In  1889 
a  fine  flag-staff'  was  raised  on  the  building,  a  large  flag  pur- 
chased, and  since  then  the  school  has  floated  the  highest  stars 
and  stripes  in  town.  At  the  same  time  the  district  procured 
good  flags  for  all  the  rooms  in  both  city  and  country  schools. 
Real  slate  blackboards,  four  feet  high,  were  placed  through- 
out the  building  on  all  available  wall  space,  in  January, 
1891.  In  January,  1892,  the  Vjuilding  was  damaged  by  fire 
to  the  amount  of  |2,000,  narrowly  escaping  complete  destruc- 
tion. This  damage  was  immediately  repaired,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  entire  eastern  half  of  the  basement  was  fin- 
ished with  a  cement  fioor,  furnishing  a  good  room  for  calis- 
thenics, and  for  a  play-room  in  stormy  weather.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1892,  auxiliary  heating  was  added  by  putting  in  a  steam 
heater,  with  radiators  in  each  room  and  hallway,  in  order  to 
furnish  needed  additional  heat  and  to  provide  more  econo- 
mical means  of  keeping  the  building  warm  when  but  httle 
heat  is  needed. 

In  noting  the  development  of  the  course  of  study,  and 
the  changes  in  the  grading  of  the  schools,  there  is  more  diffi- 
culty in  obtaining  the  data,  as  all  the  records  were  destroved 
by  fire  in  1888. 


THE  PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   FLORENCE.  565^ 

To  one  accustomed  to  study  the  changes  in  social  life 
from  century  to  century,  there  is  no  graded  school  inWisconsin 
that  has  not  undergone  most  wonderful  changes  in  methods 
of  teaching  and  in  matter  taught  during  the  past  decade ; 
and  in  our  schools  this  is  douhly  true.  In  the  first  three 
years  the  rapidly  growing  population  and  the  small  number 
of  departments  prevented  any  close  grading,  or  the  adoption 
of  a  well-defined  course  of  study.  The  preparation  for  this 
work  was  begun  in  1883,  when,  with  the  school  divided  into 
four  departments.  Principal  O.  H.  Chamberlin  took  charge 
of  the  work,  and  in  his  two  years'  service  he  did  much  to- 
ward fixing  the  future  course  of  the  school  in  the  right 
direction.  A  vote  was  taken  in  the  fall  of  1886,  on  the 
question  of  having  a  free  high  school,  resulting  in  favor  of 
the  school.  The  necessary  requirements  were  found,  upon 
examination,  to  exist,  and  the  free  high  school  was  formally 
approved,  providing  for  a  three  years'  course  of  study.  This 
important  result  was  very  largely  due  to  the  energetic  work 
of  J.  E.  Abbott,  who  was  at  that  time  principal  of  the  schools. 
While  Mr.  Abbott  was  at  the  head  of  the  schools  a  good  be- 
ginning was  made  in  the  line  of  physical  apparatus  for  class 
work  experiment,  and  in  a  library,  which  now  comprises  over 
six  hundred  volumes. 

In  1891  the  course  of  study  for  the  grades  below  the 
high  school  was  thoroughly  revised  by  Principal  F.  W. 
Barker,  outlining  eight  years  of  continuous  work  in  the 
lower  departments,  insuring  more  systematic  instruction^ 
and  placing  the  whole  in  line  with  approved  modern 
methods  and  thought.  During  the  past  year  the  course  of 
study  for  the  high  school  was  slightly  revised  ;  kindergarten 
work  has  been  introduced  in  connection  with  the  regular 
work  in  the  first  primary  department ;  and  a  beginning 
made  of  systematic  work  in  teaching  drawing,  singing  and 
calisthenics,  while  the  purchase  of  a  stereopticon  and  a  type- 
writer has  added  to  the  facilities  for  instruction. 

A  marked  improvement  has  also  been  made  during  the 
past  two  years,  an  improvement  which  promises  much  for 
the  future  welfare  of  the  schools,  in  the  qualifications  of  the 
teaching  force.  Of  the  corps  of  nine  teachers  for  1892-93, 
only  one,  and  that  a  teacher  in  one  of  the  country  districts, 
holds  a  certificate  as  low  as  the  third  grade,  while  more  than 
half  have  had  normal  or  college  training.  No  pains  have 
been  spared  in  securing  the  very  best  teachers  possible  for 
each  position,  and  the  people  feel  a  just  pride  in  the  uniformly 
high  qualifications  of  their  corps  of  teachers. 


566 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  OF  FLORENCE. 


Thus  there  is  at  present  a  carefully  arranged  course  of 
study,  graded  for  eleven  years  of  continuous  work,  affording 
to  the  poorest  as  to  the  richest  the  opportunity  of  obtaining 
a  sound  English  education,  by  approved  methods  of  work, 
and  under  instructors  approved  in  their  profession — such 
an  opportunity  as  is  not  afforded  by  man}'  of  the  oldest  com- 
munities in  the  country.  And  this  has  been  accomplished 
in  a  short  twelve  years,  in  a  corner  of  our  state  where  the 
Indian  still  roams,  hunting  and  fishing  through  a  forest,  in 
many  a  nook  of  which  the  deer  are  feeding  and  the  bear  is 
prowling,  hardly  knowing  the  intrusion  of  man  — with  only 
the  long  line  of  railroad  reaching  to  the  outside  world,  the 
single  arter}'  through  which  have  pulsed  the  daily  currents 
which  have  brought  new  life. 

Below  are  given  such  parts  of  the  school  records  as  have 
been  preserved,  and  would  be  apt  to  interest  the  reader. 

A  RECORD  OF  ATTENDANCE  FROM  1887  TO  1892. 


Yeak. 

H  ghest  enrollment 
for  any  month. 

No.  of  half-days  ah- 
sence  for  year. 

Cases  of  tardiness 
for  year. 

1887-88 

209 
235 
253 
293 

4,852 
4,548 
6,612 
9.895 

433 

1888-89 

260 

1889-90 

491 

1890-91 

1,063 

1891-92  

309                   5.683 

334 

' 

One  notes  a  steady  increase  in  enrollment,  a  movement 
which  is  continued  this  year,  September's  enrollment  reach- 
ing 327.  The  total  enrollment  for  the  year  1891-2  was  367; 
the  number  for  other  years  cannot  be  determined. 

Principals:  O.  H.  Chamberlin,  September,  1883,  to  June, 
1885 ;  J.  E.  Abbott,  September,  1885,  to  June,  1887  ;  W.  L. 
Morrison,  1887,  to  February,  1889 ;  0.  G.  Hilliard,  February, 
1889,  to  June,  1889;  F.  W.  Barker,  September,  1889,  to  1891; 
E.  D.  Rounds,  September,  1891,  to  present  time. 

The  town  board  of  school  directors  are  :  A.  K.  God- 
shall,  president;  G.  C.  Youngs,  secretary;  C.  A.  Fortier,  vice- 
president;  P.  Benane,  Charles  La  Salle.  The  high  school 
board  are  :  A,  K.  Godshall.  director;  S.  T.  Beattie,  treasurer; 
John  O'Hara,  clerk. 

The  teachers  of  the  schools  are :  E.  D.  Rounds,  princi- 
pal, high  school  department,  salary  ^1,100;  Rose  Griffith, 
nigh  school  assistant  and  grammar  department,  $600 ;  Tidy 
McGillis,  third  intermediate  department,  $500;  Beatrice  Donais, 


THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF    FLORENCE.  567 

second  intermediate  department,  $500;  Allis  L.  Robertson, 
first  intermediate  department,  $500;  Constance  A.  Wald,  sec- 
ond primary  department,  $500;  Myrtle  Sawyer,  first  primary 
department,  $550;  Eva  E.  Stewart,  sub-district  No.  3,  $400; 
Cora  E.  Bailey,  sub-district  No.  4,  $400. 

After  noting  the  growth  of  our  system  of  schools,  we 
naturally  look  backward  to  see  what  have  been  the  chief  causes 
leading  to  the  development  of  what  merit  can  be  claimed 
for  the  schools;  and  it  is  right  that  these  causes  be  mentioned 
here. 

To  those  who  are  in  a  position  to  see  its  workings,  the 
adoption  of  the  "township  system"  of  school  government 
must  commend  itself  as  being  one  factor  in  the  cause  of  the 
prosperity  of  our  schools.  The  ease  with  which  they  have 
been  maintained  is  due  in  large  measure  to  the  provisions  of 
law  governing  taxation  for  school  purposes  under  this  sys- 
tem. This  will  be  better  understood,  perhaps,  when  it  is 
stated  that,  under  our  present  system,  the  expense  of  main- 
taining all  the  schools  in  the  town  of  Florence  is  borne 
equally  by  every  dollar's  worth  of  taxable  property  within 
the  town.  Under  any  other  system  possible  the  expense  for 
our  village  schools  would  have  to  be  borne  by  the  property 
within  thirty-six  square  miles  of  contiguous  territory,  or  about 
one-eighth  of  the  territory  in  the  town.  The  assessed  valua- 
tion of  the  thirty -six  square  miles,  including  the  \'illage  and 
the  Florence  mine,  is  about  one-fourth  of  the  assessed  valua- 
tion of  the  town;  while  there  are  but  two  small  schools  out- 
side of  the  village.  Hence,  it  will  be  seen  that  by  any  other 
system  possible  the  taxable  property  within  the  thirty-six 
square  mile  limit  would  have  to  be  assessed  nearly  four 
times  as  high  as  now,  in  order  to  maintain  the  schools  on 
the  same  plane.  To  Mr.  W.  A.  Whittlesey,  who  was  ap- 
pointed county  superintendent  upon  the  the  organization  of 
the  county,  and  who  brought  this  matter  before  the  people, 
is  largely  due  the  credit  of  the  adoption  of  this  system, 
which  has  worked  to  the  advantage  of  the  rich  and  poor 
alike. 

In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note,  as  a  feature 
of  our  free  school  system,  that  in  sub-district  No.  4  of  this 
town,  a  school,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of  less  than 
five,  is  maintained  ten  months  in  the  year  at  an  annual  ex- 
pense of  five  hundred  dollars,  or  more  than  one  hundred 
dollars  per  pupil.  And  yet  it  is  not  hard  to  believe  that 
that  school  pays  for  itself  in  the  end,  for,  not  mentioning  the 


568  THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF   FLORENCE. 

enhanced  valuation  of  the  real  estate,  it  is  well  known  that 
no  two  things  are  more  expensive  to  a  nation  than  ignorance 
and  crime,  and  the  one  begets  the  other. 

Another  factor  in  this  prosperity  has  been  the  excellent 
accommodation  afforded  by  the  school  building  erected  in 
1883.  The  sound  judgment  and  true  foresight  displayed  by 
those  who  had  the  charge  of  school  matters  at  this  time  can 
not  be  too  highly  appreciated.  There  were  many  who  could 
see  nothing  but  extravagance  in  the  erection  of  so  costly, 
and  especially  so  commodious  a  building.  With  a  school 
population  requiring  but  four  departments,  a  house  was 
built  to  accommodate  six  departments,  allowing  a  fine  as- 
sembly hall,  capable  of  seating  two  hundred  and  fifty  per- 
sons, and  a  convenient  library-room,  besides.  Gradually, 
however,  the  enrollment  increased,  until  finally  a  section  of 
the  assembly  hall  has  had  to  be  used  for  school-room  work, 
thus  confirming  the  judgment  of  the  board.  The  rooms 
were  made  large  and  high,  and  well  lighted  ;  the  halls  and 
cloak  rooms  were  conveniently  located  ;  and  the  building 
was  furnished  with  a  complete  system  of  heating  and 
ventilating  flues.  Its  appearance  has  always  been  a  matter 
of  pride  to  the  citizens  of  Florence.  Situated  at  the  end  of 
a  wide  avenue,  on  the  brow  of  an  exceedingly  suitable  eleva- 
tion, it  was  long  accounted  the  finest  school  building  on 
the  Menominee  range.  From  the  stranger,  after  miles  upon 
miles  of  monotonous  scenery  of  trees  and  stumps,  it  mutely 
commands  respect  for  the  educational  system  of  our  com- 
monwealth and  the  local  management  of  our  town,  extend- 
ing to  the  immigrant  so  cheery  a  welcome  that  it  has  in- 
duced many  a  one  to  settle  among  us,  by  its  promise  of  good 
instruction  for  his  children. 

But  it  requires  something  more  in  a  community  than 
money  and  school  houses  to  insure  good  schools ;  and  this 
sketqh  would  be  incomplete  without  mention  of  the  whole- 
hearted, public-spirited  support  given  to  the  schools  by 
Florence  citizens — a  support,  which,  in  some  cases,  has 
shown  itself  to  be  devotion  ;  and  to  this  assistance,  more  than 
to  any  other  thing,  is  due  the  constant  and  rapid  advance 
in  the  development  of  our  schools,  in  which  we  take  just 
pride.  Among  those  who  have  had  educational  interests 
most  atv heart  and  in  hand,  are  J.  S.  Penberthy,  who,,  as 
county  superintendent  throughout  all  but  a  few  months  of 
the  county's  history,  has  given  noticeable  aid  by  the  faithful 
and  judicious  performance  of  his  duties  ;  H.  D.  Fisher,  who, 


THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS   OF    FLORENCE.  569 

as  president  of  the  board  of  school  directors,  from  its  organi- 
zation, in  1882,  until  July,  1889,  did  much  toward  establish- 
ing the  prosperity  of  the  school,  and  especially  towards  secur- 
ing the  present  building ;  George  C.  Youngs,  secretary  of  the 
board  of  school  directors  from  1888  to  the"  present  time, 
whose  influence  is  strongly  given  to  the  advance  of  the 
schools;  and  A.  K.  Godshall,  who  was  secretary  of  the  board 
from  1882  until  1888,  who  has  been  president  of  the  board 
from  1889  to  the  present  time,  and  who,  more  than  other 
persons,  has  given  of  his  time  and  thought  and  influence  to 
the  improvement  of  our  system  of  schools.  And  if  there  is 
one  lesson  more  than  another  to  be  learned  by  this  history, 
it  is,  that,  while  good  schools  make  good  citizens,  it  needs 
good  citizens  to  make  good  schools. 

E.  D.  Rounds. 


The  Jefferson  Public  Schools. 


The  first  settlement  on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Jefferson 
was  made  in  1836.  Three  years  later  the  first  school  house 
was  built,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  It  was  a  rude  con- 
struction, erected  from  the  logs  of  the  forest,  with  no  brick 
or  mortar,  except  perhaps  a  little  of  the  latter  to  serve  as 
filling  for  the  chinks  between  the  rough-hewn  timbers  of  its 
walls.  Modest  and  homely  as  was  this  beginning,  it  was 
nevertheless  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  excellent  school 
system  of  the  city. 

Dr.  Bicknell  was  the  first  teacher  to  wield  the  scepter  of 
authority;  whether  he  "boarded  round,"  as  was  the  wont  of 
early  pedagogues,  history  fails  to  record.  But  that  the  early 
school  daj's  in  that  log  school  house  saw  enacted  many  of 
the  grotesque  and  romantic  incidents  of  backwoods  Badger 
life  is  quite  probable.  While  few  of  the  doctor's  old  charges 
are  here  to  tell  the  story  of  how  he  taught  the  young  idea, 
yet  the  seed  then  sown  is  silently  bearing  fruit  in  the  up- 
building of  schools  and  homes  in  the  far  West. 

Some  time  in  the  40's  a  second  school  was  opened  in 
a  frame  building  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  on  the  lot 
where  now  the  residence  of  Chas.  Stoppenbach  stands. 
Clark  Walterbury  taught  this  school  in  1848.  Among  the 
pupils  who  attended  his  school  that  year  were  W.  H.  Hake, 
Elbert  and  Egbert  Masters,  Harriet  and  Moscow  Burton, 
William  Sawyer,  Alden,  Caroline  and  Anne  Sanborn,  the 
Whipples,  the  Potters,  Marshall  and  Anna  Crist,  Emma  and 
Henry  Howe. 

"  In  1851,"  says  the  history  of  Jefferson  county,  "as  the 
population  increased  and  the  number  of  pupils  seeking  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a 
regular  attendance  became  greater,  the  school  district  on  the 
east  side  was  divided,  and  a  brick  school  building  was  erected 
near  the  corner  of  Condire  and  Main  streets."  The  district 
in  which  this  building  was  located  was  known  as  district  No. 
1,  that  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  as  No.  12. 

Time  sped  on  ;  the  village  continued  its  slow  but  firm 
and  steady  gro^\•th  through  the  50's  and  60's ;  the  schools 
kept  time  with  the  march  of  material  prosperity,  and  in  1870 

570 


THE   JEFFERSON   PUBLIC  SCHOOLS.  571 

the  present  Second  ward  school  building  on  the  east  side, 
then  in  District  No.  1,  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  It  com- 
prised three  departments.  About  the  same  time  district 
Ko.  12  followed  the  example  of  No.  1,  by  erecting  a  S7,000 
school  building  of  two  departments.  These  two  schools  kept 
up  a  good-natured  but  efficient  rivalry  until  the  two  districts 
were  merged  into  one  under  the  city's  charter.  During  the  in- 
terval from  1870  to  1879  the  names  of  a  number  of  well-known 
men  appear  as  principals  of  those  schools.  Among  the  east 
side  principals,  the  names  of  G.  A.  Williams  and  B,  F. 
Anderson  appear;  some  of  the  west  side  principals  were  George 
Brown,  S.  S.  Corner,  W.  F.  Bundy,  E.  Ewing  and  W.  C. 
Gordon. 

By  special  act  of  the  legislature,  in  1879,  Jefferson  city 
was  incorporated.  The  two  school  districts,  Xos.  1  and  12,  were 
consolidated  into  one,  the  control  of  which  was  vested  in  a 
school  board  of  three  members  (increased  in  1881  to  six),  one 
from  each  ward,  appointed  by  the  common  council.  The 
first  board  consisted  of  W.  H.  Hake,  Christopher  Grimm  and 
Adam  Kispert,  with  the  city  clerk  and  treasurer  as  ex-officio 
members. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  May  6th,  1879,  the  first  board 
meeting  was  held  in  the  city  hall.  Adam  Kispert  was 
chosen  president.  The  first  business  considered  was  a 
proposition  made  by  Messrs.  Hitchcock  and  Forsyth  offering 
for  sale  to  the  city  of  Jefferson  the  property  known  as  the 
"Jefferson  Liberal  institute."  The  board  adjourned  without 
taking  action,  to  meet  again  on  May  13th,  at  which  meeting 
Mr.  Clark  offered  a  resolution  praying  for  the  purchase  of  the 
Liberal  institute  property  at  $6,125,  and  moved  the  adoption 
of  a  resolution  recommending  to  the  common  council  the 
speedy  purchase  of  the  same.  The  people,  at  the  charter 
election  of  April  8th  of  the  same  year,  had  directed  by  a  very 
decided  majority  this  purchase  for  school  purposes.  The 
common  council  at  once  made  arrangements  for  the  transfer 
of  the  property.  Thus  was  secured  to  the  city  commodious 
accommodation  for  its  increasing  school  needs  at  a  com- 
paratively small  expense. 

The  Jefferson  Liberal  institute  was,  at  first,  in  a  certam 
sense  a  public  school.  The  idea  originated  about  the  close 
of  the  war  in  the  minds  of  the  public-spirited  and  progress- 
ive citizens  of  the  city  in  the  interest  of  higher  education. 
Its  design  was  to  furnish  college  preparatory  training.  The 
erection  of  the  building  was  begun  in  1865,  and  the  cost, 


572  THE   JEFFERSON   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

when  completed,  including  the  four  acres  of  ground,  was  ins 
the  neighborhood  of  $30,000.  For  a  time  the  institution  was- 
in  a  flourishing  condition,  ample  pledges  were  made  for  its 
financial  support,  and  students  were  attracted  from  all  over 
this  state,  and  some  from  other  states.  But  during  the  finan- 
cial distresses  from  1873  to  1879,  collections  could  not  be  made; 
embarrassment  ensued,  and  the  institution  was  finally  com- 
pelled to  close  its  doors;  later,  to  be  sold  for  debt.  The  city 
embraced  this  opportunity,  thereby  laying  the  material  foun- 
dation of  the  high  school. 

The  building  is  situated  on  an  eminence,  the  highest 
point  in  the  city,  at  the  junction  of  the  Rock  and  Crawfish 
rivers,  commanding  a  view  of  those  rivers  for  miles  in  their 
courses  through  the  beautiful  hill  country  of  Jefferson  county. 
It  is  built  of  brick  and  stone,  eighty  feet  long  by  fifty  wide^ 
three  stories  high  above  the  basement.  In  the  fall  of  1880, 
after  some  improvements  had  been  made,  the  advanced  de- 
partment  of  the  city  schools  was  moved  into  one  of  the  rooms 
in  the  "  institute  "  building  with  Amos  Squire  as  principal. 
Two  additional  teachers  were  employed,  making  seven  in  all. 
Upward  of  300  pupils  were  instructed  in  the  various  depart- 
ments that  year. 

Amos  Squire  did  excellent  service  as  principal  for  ten 
years.  He  began  with  a  school  of  two  departments  in  1874; 
when  he  resigned,  in  1885,  his  supervision  extended  over 
seven  departments.  We  had  seen  the  schools  of  Jefferson 
grow  from  two  districts  into  a  city  system,  prepared  in  point 
of  advancement  to  be  placed  on  the  free  high  school  register 
of  the  state. 

In  the  summer  of  1885  H.  F.  Wieman  was  chosen  prin- 
cipal. At  the  first  meeting  of  the  board,  in  the  same  school 
year,  Commissioner  Fisher  offered  the  following  resolution : 
"  Resolved,  that  in  the  opinion  of  this  board  the  four  years' 
course  of  study  approved  by  the  state  superintendent  of 
public  instruction  for  free  high  schools  should  be  adopted  as 
the  standard  of  our  public  schools,  and  that  the  course  of 
study,  rules  and  and  regulations  heretofore  adopted  by  the 
board  should  be  revised  so  as  to  meet  the  requirements 
thereof."  On  the  23d  of  December,  1885,  the  examination 
for  admission  to  the  list  of  free  high  schools  was  held,  and 
on  March  18  following  State  Superintendent  Robert  Graham 
allowed  the  same. 

During    the    four  years  that  Professor  Wieman  held 
sway  the  school  kept  up  a  steady  and  strong  grovA-th,     In- 


THE  JEFFERSON   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS.  573 

ierest  in  school  work  was  quickened;  the  graduating  classes 
were  large ;  a  flourishing  literary  and  debating  club  was  or- 
ganized and  successfully  carried  on  by  the  pupils,  and  not 
least,  the  nucleus  of  a  library  was  formed  which  has  since 
grown  to  be  the  pride  of  the  school.  In  1889  Professor  Wie- 
man  resigned  and  .J.  G.  Adams  was  chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
-J.  O.  Perkins,  present  superintendent  of  .Jefferson  county, 
was  re-elected  principal  of  the  east  side  school. 

Prof.  Adams'  principalship  extended  over  three  years. 
Meanwhile  many  improvements  were  made  about  the  build- 
ing and  in  its  equipment.  The  free  text  book  system  was 
adopted  in  1889,  is  still  in  vogue,  and  is  advantageous  in 
every  way.  A  year  ago  the  Smead  heating  and  ventilating 
system  was  put  in  at  an  expense  of  nearly  $3,000.  Last 
summer  three  unfurnished  rooms  on  the  third  floor  were 
fitted  up  for  permanent  occupancy  by  the  fourth,  fifth,  sixth, 
and  seventh  grades.  Since  then  an  excellent  fire  escape 
has  been  placed  on  the  building. 

Formerly  all  the  grades  above  the  fourth  grade  were 
seated  in  the  large  assembly  room  on  the  second  floor,  but  at 
present  the  pupils  of  the  eighth  and  high  school  grades  only 
occupy  this  room,  which  greatly  facilitates  the  work  of  the 
high  school.  These  grades  are  under  the  supervision  of  the 
principal  and  one  assistant.  Half  hour  recitations  are  held, 
•each  pupil  reciting  four  times  daily.  In  addition  to  the 
regular  class  work  each  pupil  of  the  eighth,  ninth  and  tenth 
grades  is  required  to  prepare  two  recitations  or  declamations 
each  term,  making  six  during  the  school  year,  the  eleventh 
and  twelfth  grades  preparing  original  essays  and  orations  in- 
stead. The  department  is  divided  into  five  divisions,  one 
rhetorical  division  employing  the  last  hour  of  each  Friday 
afternoon  in  speaking  and  essay-reading. 

A  most  valuable  adjunct  to  the  appliances  of  the  school 
is  the  physical  laboratory,  containing  apparatus  illustrative  of 
all  departments  of  natural  philosophy.  This,  together  with 
a  cabinet  of  geological  specimens,  furnish  ample  material  for 
illustration  and  objective  work  throughout  the  grades.  The 
library  of  over  400  volumes  is  kept  in  constant  circulation; 
from  40  to  75  books  are  drawn  by  the  pupils  every  Friday 
afternoon  to  be  kept  for  one  week.  A  complete  record  of  books 
■drawn  is  kept  in  a  record-book  provided  by  the  board  for  the 
special  purpose. 

It  has  always  been  the  good  fortune  of  the  Jefferson 
schools  to  have  on  the  board  of  education  live,  energetic,  pro- 


574  THE  JEFFERSON    PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

gressive  business  men.  Some  of  those  who  have  rendered 
efficient  service  in  that  capacity  of  late  years  are  C.  F.  Roess- 
ler,  Mr.  Bird,  Mr.  Illing,  A.  H.  Porter,  H.  Fisher  and  Rich- 
ard  Hoe.  Its  membership  at  present  comprises  Messrs.  A, 
R.  Bechaud,  president;  G.  J.  Scheid,  J.  C.  Otis,  B.  H.  Straw, 
J.  A.  Fernholz  and  L.  M.  Smith.  Good  as  the  present  ac- 
commodations are,  and  as  well  provided  for  in  the  line  of  ap- 
pliances as  the  school  is,  with  the  membership  continually 
increasing,  it  will  not  be  long  before  more  commodious  build- 
ings and  more  extensive  appliances  will  be  necessary,  if  the 
schools  of  Jefferson  are  to  continue  to  increase  in  potency  a» 
a  factor  of  the  city's  life. 

Isaac  Peterson, 


The  Arcadia  Public  Schools. 


Arcadia,  a  village  of  700  inhabitants,  is  situated  in  the 
beautiful  Trempealeau  valley,  on  the  Green  Bay,  Winona 
and  St.  Paul  railroad,  192  miles  west  of  Green  Bay  and  22 
miles  east  of  Winona. 

From  the  earliest  settlement  of  the  town,  education  has 
had  careful  consideration,  and  scarcely  were  the  most  primi- 
tive dwellings  of  the  pioneers  built,  before  attention  was 
given  to  the  erection  of  a  school  house.  All  the  little 
events  of  every-day  life  are  like  the  stones  in  a  mosaic,  each 
going  to  make  up  the  whole  picture.  So  the  little  14x16 
log  school  house  may  now  seem  to  have  been  a  small  affair, 
but  a  picture  illustrating  the  stages  of  growth  of  the  Arcadia 
school  would  be  decided!}'  incomplete  without  that  primitive 
temple  of  learning.  The  log  school  house  was  built  in  1857, 
on  a  lot  donated  by  Collins  Bishop,  adjacent  to  and  west  of 
the  present  residence  of  Isaac  Roe.  At  that  time  Chimney 
Rock  and  Buriiside  were  part  of  Arcadia,  and  all  was  in- 
cluded in  one  school  district. 

The  early  settlers  who  built  the  log  school  house  were  : 
David  Bishop,  killed  by  lightning  in  1868;  Collins  Bishop, 
Jesse  R.  Penny,  Ambrose  C.  Matterson,  who  still  reside  in 
Arcadia ;  George  D.  Dewey,  now  at  Ypsilanti,  North  Dakota  ; 
George  Shelley,  now  at  Kingston,  Missouri ;  and  James 
Broughton,  John  McMaster,  Noah  D.  Com^tock  and  Mrs. 
Armer  B.  Bishop,  all  now  deceased.  David  Bishop's  wife 
had  the  honor  of  naming  the  town. 

The  first  school  was  taught  in  1857,  by  Mrs.  John  Mc- 
Master, who  is  now  (1892)  teaching  at  West  Plains,  Howell 
county,  Missouri.  There  were  fourteen,  pupils  in  this  school, 
only  three  of  whom  are  now  living  in  the  district,  viz. : 
Harvey  Matterson,  Malvina  (Matterson)  Roe  and  Blanche  A. 
Bishop.  Of  the  others  Isaac  Slade  lives  at  Winona,  Min- 
nesota ;  Albert  Broughton  lives  at  Ypsilanti,  North  Dakota ; 
Rose  C.  (Bishop)  Markham  lives  at  Independence,  Wisconsin, 
and  the  others  are  all  deceased.  As  the  settlers  increased 
in  numbers,  and  the  school  also  grew,  and  in  1863  the   log 

575 


576  THE   ARCADIA   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

school  house  was  supplanted  by  a  frame  building,  30x40, 
Arcadia  at  once  took  front  rank  in  the  county  for  its  public 
school  advantages. 

In  1874  the  school  building  was  again  found  too  small. 
A  house,  now  a  part  of  Mr.  Penny's  residence  in  East  Arcadia, 
was  rented  for  a  time,  to  accommodate  a  portion  of  the  pupils, 
and  the  school  was  divided.     In  1875  the  district  took  steps 
towards  the  erection  of  the  graded  school  building,  and  on 
September  9,  1875,  the  job  was  let,  the  contract  price  being 
$5,500.     The  school  house  site  was  changed  about  one-half 
mile  to  the  west,  because  of  conditions  consequent  upon  the 
advent  of  the  railroad  and  the  growth  of  the  village.     School 
opened  in  the  graded  school  building  in  1876.     In  1884  an 
addition  was  built  containing  two  school  rooms,  a  library  and 
a  recitation  room.     In  that  year  the  high  school  was  estab- 
lished, and  a  library  started  which  has  since  received  yearly 
additions  until  it  now  contains  about  1 ,200   volumes.     The 
first  high  school  principal  was  J.  H.  Ackerman,  now  city  su- 
perintendent of  schools  of  Portland,  Oregon.     He  held  the 
position  for  five  years  and  did  much  to  improve  the  charac- 
ter of  the  school.     A   sixth  teach-er  has  been  added  to   the 
corps  this  season.     Non-residents  are  admitted  to  the  school 
on  the  payment  of  a  small  tuition  fee,  and   a  number  of 
young  persons  from  both  Trempealeau  and  Buffalo  counties 
avail  themselves  of  the  privilege.     Numerous  districts  have 
been  organized  out  of  the  original  log  school  house  district, 
one  of  which,  at  Independence,  has  a  graded  school.     Thus 
from  the  little  log  school  house  there  has  gone  out  an  inter- 
est in  education  which  seems  to   have   kept  pace  with  the 
growth  in  population. 

The  present  enrollment  is  as  follows  : 

High  school  departments 58 

Grammar    department 37 

Intermediate  department 43 

Second  primary  department 41 

First  primary  department 63 

Total .T242 

J.  I.  Jegi. 


COUNTY  SCHOOL  SYSTEMS. 


Sketch  of  the  Early  Educational  History  of 
Grant  County. 


The  educational  life  of  the  lead  region  of  Southwest 
Wisconsin  is  naturally  divided  into  three  periods,  first,  the 
subscription  school  period;  second,  the  academy  period  ;  and 
third,  the  public  school  period.  The  second  was  the  logical 
sequence  of  the  first,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  the  third 
was  a  gradual  development  and  overlapped  the  second  period. 
This  sketch  is  almost  entirely  concerned  with  the  first  and 
second. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  lead  region  was 
largely  settled  by  people  of  Southern  birth,  who  brought 
with  them  prejudices  in  favor  of  private  schools,  and  who 
looked  forward  hopefully  to  the  time  when  they  could 
organize  and  support  their  own  academies  or  colleges.  They 
had  little  faith  in  public  school  instruction,  and  were  opposed 
to  taxing  property  for  educational  purposes.  In  this  region 
was  fought  the  chief  battle  between  the  private  and  public 
school  ideas.  Arrayed  on  the  side  of  education  by  private 
enterprise  were  the  prejudices  of  most  of  the  early  and 
influential  settlers  and  the  traditions  of  the  schools  of 
their  native  states ;  on  the  side  of  education  at  public  ex- 
pense were  found  the  few  who  had  hailed  from  the  Eastern, 
especially  from  the  New  England,  states.  Though  few  in 
number,  these  did  valiant  service,  and,  being  in  sympathy 
with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  their  ideas  finally  prevailed. 

The  first  building  erected  for  school  purposes,  and  prob- 
ably the  first  school  opened  in  the  "Wisconsin  lead  region,, 
was  within  the  present  limits  of  the  city  of  Mineral  Point,  in 
July,  1830.  It  was,  like  most  of  the  buildings  of  the  day,  a 
log  structure,  and  served  the  three-fold  purpose  of  school 
house,  church,  and  justice  court-room. 

SCHOOLS    IN    PLATTEVILLE. 

The  second  school  house  of  the  region  was  built  on  the 
east  side  of  Section  16,  within  the  corporate  limits  of  the 
city  of  Platteville.     It,  too,  was  built  of  logs,  was  one  story 

578 


EARLY  EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY  OF  GRANT  COUNTY.        579' 

high,  and  measured  18x20  feet.  The  first  teacher  was  one 
Samuel  Huntington,  who  seemed  to  have  divided  his  time 
between  teaching  school  and  prospecting  for  lead.  As  tho 
latter  employment,  no  doubt,  paid  better  than  the  first,  it  re- 
ceived so  much  of  his  time  as  to  cause  much  dissatisfaction 
among  the  patrons.  His  pay  for  teaching  was  $3.00  a  quar- 
ter for  each  pupil,  and,  as  the  number  did  not  exceed  fifteen, 
it  is  readily  seen  that  the  temptation  to  eke  out  his  income 
by  mining  was  a  strong  one.  Mr.  Huntington  was  a  man 
about  forty  years  of  age,  strict  in  his  requirements,  and 
classed  as  eccentric.  Whence  he  came  or  whither  he  went 
cannot  now  be  ascertained. 

In  1836  Dr.  A.  T.  Losey  was  induced  to  open  a  school 
in  a  small  building  a  little  north  of  the  site  on  which  the 
city  hall  now  stands.  As  the  doctor  was  still  in  active  prac- 
tice of  his  profession,  he  entrusted  most  of  the  work  of  teach- 
ing to  his  sister,  Miss  Losey.  She  and  Miss  Walker,  of  Cass- 
ville,  may  be  considered  the  first  female  teachers  in  the 
county.  This  school  consisted  of  about  forty  pupils,  but 
what  income  it  yielded  is  not  recorded.  It  is  probable  that 
the  patrons  were  not  satisfied  to  have  the  principal  of  their 
school  divide  his  time  between  his  pupils  and  his  patients, 
as  the  arrangement  seems  to  have  continued  for  only  one 
year. 

In  May,  1837,  Hamner  Robbins,  long  and  favorably 
known  in  the  political  and  educational  history  of  Wisconsin,, 
opened  a  school  in  a  log  house  a  little  south  of  where  the 
Congregational  church  now  stands,  and  enrolled  about  sixty 
pupils.  The  excellence  of  the  instruction  gave  such  popu- 
larity to  the  school  that  the  tuition  was  advanced  to  $4.50  a 
term.  Mr.  Robbins  taught  two  or  three  years,  and  by  his 
energy  and  enthusiasm  created  a"  sentiment  so  favorable  to 
thorough  education  that  the  founding  of  a  higher  institution 
of  learning  became  a  necessity. 

PLATTEVILLE     ACADEMY. 

As  early  as  February,  1839,  Major  J.  H.  Rountree  in- 
troduced a  bill  into  the  territorial  council  for  the  incorporation 
of  Platteville  academy.  The  bill  passed,  and  from  that  timo 
until  the  academy  was  transferred  to  the  state,  upon  location 
of  the  first  state  normal  school  in  Platteville,  that  institution 
was  a  power  for  great  good  in  the  Northwest,  and  was  prob- 
ably better  known  than  any  other  academy  in  Wisconsin. 
A.  M.  Dixon,  of  Bond  county,  Illinois,  was  the  first  principal^ 


580        EARLY  EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY  OF  GRANT  COUNTY. 

and  he  was  followed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Nolan,  and  probably  by  one 
or  two  others  who  served  for  only  a  short  time. 

The  basement  of  the  Methodist  church  had  been  used 
for  some  years  for  academy  purposes,  but  in  1841  a  frame 
building  40x60  and  two  stories  in  height,  now  owned  and 
occupied  as  a  residence  by  Mr.  Charles  Loveland,  was  erected. 
Mr.  John  Myers,  who  prepared  the  frame  of  the  new  academy 
building,  is  still  living  in  Platteville.  On  the  completion  ot 
the  building,  Prof.  Carrier  was  installed  as  principal.  Before 
long  there  was  another  change  in  the  principal  ship.  Rev. 
George  Magoon  assuming  the  duties  of  the  office.  In  1846, 
Prof.  J.  L.  Pickard,  than  whom  no  teacher  is  better  or  more 
favorably  known  in  the  Northwest,  arrived  in  Platteville,  and 
took  charge  of  the  academy.  The  institution  evidenth'  was 
in  great  need  of  just  such  wise  and  vigorous  management  as 
characterized  Mr.  Pickard's  administration.  He  commenced 
work  with  but  five  pupils,  but  only  a  few  years  had  passed 
before  a  more  commodious  building  was  demanded,  and 
forthwith  it  was  erected  under  Mr,  Pickard's  direction. 

For  thirteen  years  Mr.  Pickard  remained  at  the  head 
of  this  institution,  and  in  that  time  had  enrolled  a  member- 
ship of  1,111  students.  Not  the  least  of  his  many  services 
was  the  quiet,  but  effective,  manner  in  which  Mr.  Pickard 
changed  the  sentiments  of  the  people  of  Southern  Wisconsin 
from  hostility  to  common  schools  to  ardent  support  of  them. 
Though  at  the  head  of  a  private  academy,  no  man  in  the 
country  took  more  interest  in  common  schools,  and  in  fact  in 
all  educational  institutions,  than  did  Mr.  Pickard.  In  1849 
he  was  elected  the  first  town  superintendent  of  the  schools  of 
Platteville,  and  in  1859  state  superintendent.  After  this  the 
academy  was  in  charge  of  Professor  A.  K.  Johnson  for  a 
time,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Professor  George  M.  Guern- 
sey, who  continued  as  principal  until  the  transfer  of  the 
building  to  the  state,  in  1866. 

Meantime,  as  the  other  settlements  in  this  region  assumed 
such  proportions  as  to  justify  the  establishment  of  a  school, 
private  enterprise  furnished  the  equipment  or  guaranteed  a 
sufficient  income  to  warrant  the  venture.  In  1839  a  small 
school  was  opened  in  Muscoda,  and  taught  ]jy  Allan  Boyer. 
Not  until  fifteen  years  after,  was  a  building  erected  for  school 
purposes.  In  1854  Colonel  Hamilton  took  the  contract  for 
building  a  school  house,  employing  Charles  W.  Wright  to 
do  the  carpenter  work.  George  R.  Frank,  afterwards  known 
as  Major  Frank,  was  the  first  teacher. 


EARLY  EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY  OF  GRANT  COUNTY.    581 
SCHOOLS  IN  LANCASTER. 

The  first  school  in  Lancaster  was  opened  in  1841,  and 
was  supported  by  voluntary  contributions.  The  first  teacher 
employed  was  Miss  Jane  Ayers,  of  Rockville.  Shortly  after 
this  Francis  Rigeaud,  an  old  French  soldier,  opened  a  school 
in  the  building  used  for  a  court  house.  This  was  suspended 
in  184B,  when  the  first  school  house  was  built. 

The  first  school  board  of  Lancaster  consisted  of  J.  Allen 
Barber,  Nelson  Dewey  and  Daniel  Banfill.  This  board  un- 
dertook the  task  of  erecting  a  convenient  and  comfortable 
school  building,  but  encountered  vigorous  and  persistent  op- 
position. They,  however,  were  not  men  to  be  driven  from  a 
purpose.  When  the  building  was  completed,  opponents  be- 
came admirers,  and  the  work  of  public  education  was  inau- 
gurated under  most  favorable  conditions. 

The  name  of  the  first  teacher  of  this  school  is  lost,  but 
soon  a  young  man  who  had  been  trained  in  the  school  of  Dr. 
Edward  Beecher  became  a  resident  of  Lancaster,  and  was 
elected  to  preside  over  the  school  of  this  young   Western 
town.     To-day  no  man  in  Lancaster  takes  more  interest  in 
education  than  this  same  teacher  of  pioneer  days,  the  scholarly 
and  genial  Judge  J.  T.  Mills.     It  would  seem  that  ere  long 
the  Judge  found  the  work  of  instruction  so  absorbing  his 
time  and  attention  that  an  assistant  specially  fitted  to  ad- 
minister discipline  to  the  youth  of  this  frontier  settlement 
was  needed.     Accordingly  J.  C.  Cover  was  appointed  to  as- 
sist the  Judge,  with  the  understanding,  so  the  story  goes, 
that  he  should  relieve  the  principal  from  the  disagreeable 
duty  of  inflicting  chastisement.     Colonel  John  G.  Clark  also 
served  as  teacher  for  a  time  in  the  early  days  of  this  school.^ 
Lancaster  seems  to  have  been  particularly  fortunate  both 
in  the  wisdom  of  her  school  board  and  the  eminent  ability 
of  her  teachers.     Under  the  leadership  of  such  men  Lan- 
caster naturally   hoped  to   have  some  day  within  her  own 
borders  an  institution  for  secondary  instruction  that  would 
relieve  her  citizens  from  the  necessity  of  sending  their  youth 
to  remote  schools  for  training  in  higher  departments,  and 
which  might  at  the  same  time  attract  the  most  desirable 
citizens  to  their  pleasant  town.     In  1858  this  hope  was  in  a 
measure  realized  by  the  organization  of  the  Lancaster  in- 
stitute, under  the  principalship  of  Mr.  Page,  who  afterwards 
became  well  known  throughout  the  Northwest  as  Judge  Page, 
of  Austin,  Minnesota.     This  institute   was  closed  in  1870, 
when  the  structure  now  used  by  the  high  school  was  erected. 


582        EARLY  EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY  OF  GRANT  COUNTY. 
SCHOOLS    IN    HAZEL   GREEN   AND    BLOOMINGTON. 

The  first  school  in  the  town  of  Hazel  Green  was  opened 
by  John  Smith,  in  a  frame  house  on  lower  Main  street,  in 
the  fall  of  1843.  At  the  opening  of  spring,  school  closed 
and  the  teacher  set  out  in  quest  of  a  "  rich  lead."  The 
school  was  taught  the  following  fall  by  a  ]Mr.  Bingham,  and 
he  was  followed  by  H.  D.  York,  still  an  honored  resident  of 
the  village.  Among  the  teachers  of  early  days  were  Mr. 
James  A.  Jones,  for  many  years  a  prominent  druggist  of 
Lancaster,  and  LeRoy  Lockwood.  In  1848  the  county  was 
divided  into  townships  and  H.  D.  York  appointed  town 
superintendent,  assuming  office  in  1849.  The  present  school 
building  was  erected  in  1853.  In  March,  1856,  the  Hazel 
Green  collegiate  institute  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  J.  Long- 
horn,  A.  M.  During  the  first  year  129  students  received 
instruction  at  this  institution,  and  all  indications  promised 
great  prosperity.  Financial  panic,  immediately  followed  by 
the  civil  war,  proved  disastrous  to  many  of  our  educational 
institutions,  and  among  the  first  in  this  region  to  succumb 
was  the  Hazel  Green  institute.  Its  doors  were  closed  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war  and  were  never  again  opened. 

In  1844  Bloomington  built  its  first  school  house  and 
organized  its  first  school,  employing  D.  Angerlist  as  the  first 
teacher.  In  1857  "  Blake's  Prairie  institute,"  afterwards 
known  as  "  Tafton  collegiate  institute,"  was  opened  by  Rev. 
M.  T.  Allen,  A.  M.,  a  South  Carolinian  by  birth.  In  a  short 
time  the  school  passed  into  the  hands  of  Prof.  Parsons  who, 
ably  assisted  by  Mrs.  Parsons,  gave  to  Bloomington  an  en- 
viable reputation  as  an  educational  center.  The  original 
building  was  soon  found  to  be  too  small  to  accommodate  the 
increasing  numbers,  so  a  new  one  was  erected,  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  two  hundred.  The  school  grew  in  popularity 
and  efficiency  until  some  time  in  the  60's,  when  Professor 
and  ^Irs.  Parsons  withdrew  from  the  management,  and  little 
more  was  ever  heard  of  Tafton  academy.  The  building 
became  the  property  of  the  Congregational  society  and  is 
still  used  by  that  body  as  a  place  of  worship. 

SCHOOLS    IN    OTHER    TOW'NS. 

The  early  educational  history  of  Boscobel,  so  far  as  gath- 
ered, is  soorl  told.  Miss  Lucinda  Beaudine  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  teacher.  The  school  building,  an  annex  to 
Bull's  saw  mill,  served  at  night  as  a  lodging-place  for  the 
mill  hands.     In  1851  the  school  was  moved  to  a  small  frame 


EARLY  EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY  OF  GRANT  COUNTY.        583 

building,  originally  intended  for  a  dwelling,  and  Mrs.  Ed. 
Rogers  installed  as  teacher.  A  school  building  was  erected 
in  1852  or  1853,  but  was  not  conveniently  located.  In  1858 
or  1859,  what  is  known  as  "  Belfry  school "  was  built,  and 
Mr.  Glazier  employed  as  teacher.  He  was  followed  by  Major 
Frank,  and  from  this  time  the  school  has  steadily  increased 
until  it  now  comprises  eight  or  ten  departments. 

Cassville  built  its  first  school  house  in  1835  or  1836  and 
■employed  as  its  first  teacher  Miss  Elizabeth  Walker.  This 
lady  is  best  remembered  on  account  of  an  experience  that 
nearly  proved  fatal.  The  floor  of  the  school  house  was  laid 
with  split  "puncheons"  as  they  were  called,  the  uneven  edges 
leaving  considerable  openings.  One  day  her  thimble  fell 
through  one  of  the  cracks.  On  thrusting  in  her  hand  to  re- 
cover it,  she  was  twice  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake.  Realizing 
her  danger  she  ran  at  once  for  medical  treatment,  which 
fortunately  saved  her  life.  In  1860  a  part  of  the  building 
now  used  for  school  purposes  was  erected,  and  additions  have 
since  that  time  been  made  as  demand  arose  for  more  ample 
accommodations. 

In  1861,  about  the  time  of  the  abandonment  of  Tafton 
academ}^  an  institution  of  similar  grade  was  organized  in 
Patch  Grove  under  the  title  of  "Patch  Grove  academy," 
under  the  principalship  of  William  B.  Clark.  It  gave 
promise  of  much  usefulness,  yet  its  career  was  a  brief  one. 
Before  the  close  of  the  first  decade  of  its  existence,  it  had 
shared  the  fate  of  so  many  similar  institutions  of  the  time, 
and  closed  its  doors,  never  to  open  them  again.  The  acade- 
my building,  which  is  a  very  sightly  and  commodious  one,  has 
long  been  used  by  the  district  to  house  several  departments 
of  its  graded  school. 

The  writer  has  given  a  brief  sketch  of  only  the  leading 
educational  centers  of  the  county.  In  the  rural  districts 
schools  were  opened  at  a  much  later  period  than  in  the  vil- 
lages, and  in  general,  such  schools  have  comparatively  little 
of  distinctly  characteristic  history.  Up  to  1849  there  was 
no  organized  supervision  of  schools,  as  there  was  no  tax 
levied  for  their  support.  That  date  closes  the  period  of  the 
purely  private  schools.  From  that  date  until  1862,  town 
superintendents  exercised  jurisdiction  as  to  granting  certifi- 
cates to  teachers  and  supervising  the  schools.  On  January 
1,  of  that  year,  county  superintendents  assumed  the  respon- 
sibilities of  their  office  for  the  first  time  in  Wisconsin.  The 
first  county  superintendent  of  Grant  was  Professor  Parsons, 


584         EARLY  EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY  OF  GRA^"T  COI'KTY. 

principal  of  Tafton  academy.  He  was  followed  in  the  order 
here  given  by  Major  D.  Gray  Purman,  J.  B.  Hubbard, 
W.  H.  Holford,  Geo.  M.  Guernsey,  Chas.  L.  Harper  and 
Daniel  Xeedham,  the  last  named  being  the  present  incum- 
bent. 

Most  of  the  information  contained  in  the  foregoing  has 
been  gleaned  from  the  history  of  Grant  county,  and  the 
writer  cannot  vouch  for  accuracy  in  all  particulars. 

Du>CAN  McGregor. 


The  Schools  of  Iowa  County  and  the  City  of 
Mineral  Point. 


"Old"  Iowa  county  was  one  of  the  original  sections  of 
the  territory  of  Wisconsin  and  was  organized  by  an  act  of 
the  legislative  council  of  the  territory  of  Michigan  in  1829. 
Wisconsin  territory  was  established  in  1836,  and  the  territory 
divided  into  three  counties,  Brown,  Iowa  and  Crawford.  The 
county  seat  of  Iowa  county  was  located  at  Mineral  Point,under 
the  council  of  Michigan  territory,  and  continued  under  the 
council  of  Wisconsin  territory.  The  name  "Iowa"  was  derived 
from  a  band  of  Indians,  the  "lowas,"  whose  hunting  grounds 
embraced  the  present  state  of  Wisconsin.  Mineral  Point  is 
distinctive  and  prominent  in  the  state  not  only  as  the  center 
of  mineral  resources  of  Southwest  Wisconsin,  but  in  relation 
to  the  early  settlement  of  the  state.  Like  ancient  Rome,  it 
is  built  on  numerous  hills,  exceeding  the  historical  seven  of 
that  classic  city.  It  is  about  fifty  miles  from  Madison,  the 
capital  city,  and  less  than  thirty  miles  from  the  Illinois  bor- 
der. Very  few  places  in  the  state  can  boast  of  as  picturesque 
and  attractive  surroundings — it  is  unique  in  its  irregularities 
of  streets  and  alleys,  and  herein  shows  its  marks  of  age.  Its 
manufactures  and  commerce  are  extensive  for  an  inland 
town,  and  generally  profitable.  Here  is  established  the 
largest  oxide  zinc  works  in  the  world,  also  an  extensive  wood 
pulp  paper  mill,  a  woolen  mill,  cheese  factory,  creamery, 
foundries,  and  numerous  other  manufactures. 

In  nationalities,  the  English  settlers  predominate,  as 
Cornwall  contributed  her  sturdy  men  to  the  borough  in  an 
early  day,  and  their  descendants  still  unearth  the  various 
ores,  which  abound  in  the  vicinity.  Their  knowledge  of  prac- 
tical geometry  from  the  surface  to  the  depth  of  100  feet  would 
test  the  researches  of  our  profoundest  scholars  in  that  science ; 
while  the  terms  crevice,  range,  openings,  lode,  pockets,  bar, 
drift,  gauge,  etc.,  are  the  vocabulary  of  these  delvers  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth.  The  first  discoveries  of  lead  ore,  by 
white  men,  are  chronicled  as  being  in  1827,  when  Indian 
trails  were  followed  to  places  where  they  had  been  smelt- 
ing lead. 

585 


586     TPIE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT. 

The  first  known  school  in  the  now  state  of  AMsconsin,  is 
said  to  have  been  at  Green  Bay,  started  by  Rev.  Eleazer  Wil. 
liams,who  afterwards  claimed  to  be  the  lost  dauphin  of  France- 
He  belonged  to  the  Episcopal  missionary  society,  and  in  1823, 
he  started  a  school  of  whites  and  half-breeds.  The  first 
school  of  white  children  was  taught  at  Mineral  Point,  in 
1829,  by  a  Mrs.  Harker,  assisted  by  Miss  Beulah  Lamb.  As 
families  were  drawn  here  by  the  reports  of  the  ftibulous 
wealth  to  be  obtained  from  the  lead  ore,  they  did  not  wish 
their  children  to  be  brought'  up  in  ignorance;  and  Mrs. 
Harker  was  urged  to  open  a  school  for  their  benefit  as  well 
as  her  own,  and  she  prevailed  upon  Miss  Lamb  to  assist  her. 
The  school-room  was  an  abandoned  sod  hut,  with  a  punch- 
eon floor,  the  scholars  being  principally  of  two  families — 
eight  pupils  constituted  the  school;  and  although  we  cannot 
vouch  for  the  text  books  used,  yet  as  both  of  the  instructors 
were  of  Puritan  birth,  no  doubt  the  New  England  primer  was 
responsible  for  the  advancement  of  the  students.  As  there 
was  no  way  of  heating  this  institution  of  learning,  it  was 
closed  as  the  winter  months  came  on.  Before  this  time  Mrs. 
Harker  was  obliged  to  give  up  her  place  in  the  school,  and 
Miss  Lamb  conducted  it  alone  until  its  close.  We  may  men- 
tion this  school  as  the  pioneer  seat  of  learning,  in  the  new 
state  of  Wisconsin,  and  that  it  paved  the  way  for  the  intro- 
duction of  the  arts  and  sciences,  which  now  mark  Wisconsin 
as  one  of  the  brightest  jewels  in  the  galaxy  of  states.  In 
1830  the  number  of  resident  families  had  so  increased  that 
one  Robert  Boyer,  an  itinerant  school  master,  was  engaged 
to  teach  the  children  of  the  young  colony.  A  new  log  cabin 
was  built  for  the  purpose,  with  puncheon  floor  and  seats  of 
the  same,  where  twenty  scholars  tested  the  powers  of  the 
teacher,  both  mentally  and  physically.  As  this  cabin  was 
built  exclusively  for  a  school  house,  a  generous  fire-place, 
well  supplied  with  logs,  made  it  comfortable  for  teacher  and 
scholars  throughout  the  cold  of  winter,  and  the  school  was 
continued  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Black  Hawk  war  in 
the  spring  of  1832.  From  that  date  until  the  spring  of 
1834,  I  cannot  find  any  record  of  a  public  school.  The 
entire  country  was  disrupted  with  preparations  and  ravages, 
Fort  Jackson,  at  Mineral  Point,  being  the  seat  of  refuge  for 
the  women  and  children  living  in  the  radius  of  twenty 
miles. 

In  1834  a   Methodist  minister,   Rev.  Roberts,  located  at 
Mineral  Point,  and  through  his  earnest  endeavors  a  log  cabin 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT.     587 

was  built  by  the  entire  community,  which  was  to  be  used  as 
a  meeting  house  and  school.  Rev.  Roberts  preached  on 
Sundays  and  Mr.  George  Gubbage  taught  school  during  the 
week  days.  This  cabin  was  as  primitive  as  the  former 
ones,  but  the  curriculum  of  study  must  have  been  advanced, 
as  it  is  recorded  that  blackboard  exercises  were  principally 
employed.  This  blackboard  was  a  very  ingenious  device. 
Across  two  sides  of  the  room  were  placed  wooden  troughs, 
filled  with  dry  sand,  when  the  pothooks  of  elementary  chirog- 
raphy,  and  first  lessons  of  Colburn,  were  traced  by  the  fingers 
of  the  student,  the  eraser  being  the  five  digits  of  the  entire 
hand.  This  recital  is  not  a  figure  of  rhetoric,  but  a  verified 
fact,  as  related  by  an  eye-witness  and  participator.  Mr.  Gub- 
bage gave  such  satisfaction  to  his  patrons  that  he  taught  there 
several  years,  to  an  increasing  number  of  pupils ;  and,  being  a 
bachelor,  when  his  pupils  could  not  pay  the  small  amount  he 
charged  for  tuition,  he  would  take  his  pay  in  boarding 
with  those  scholars.  Mr.  Gubbage  aJso  led  in  the  singing  of 
the  hymns  on  Sunday.  The  first  census  of  the  present  state 
of  Wisconsin  was  taken  in  1834,  when  there  were  5,400  white 
persons,  of  which  number  2,633  resided  in  Iowa  county.  At 
this  date  I  cannot  forbear  to  mention,  although  irrelevant  to 
my  subject,  that  the  first  Protestant  church  in  Wisconsin  was 
built  at  Mineral  Point ;  this  was  a  ^lethodist  church,  the  same 
one  that  I  have  described  as  being  built  by  Rev.  Roberts, 
and  used  as  a  school  house. 

In  1837  the  borough  was  incorporated,  and  the  schools 
placed  under  the  control  of  the  village  government.  They 
were  principally  supported  by  such  appropriations  as  the  vil- 
lage finances  would  allow,  and  when  not  sufficient  for  the 
support  of  the  school,  it  was  eked  out  by  pri\%te  subscrip- 
tions. Hence,  the  first  public  school  in  the  territory,  now 
state,  of  Wisconsin,  was  held  at  Mineral  Point,  Iowa  county, 
in  the  year  1837,  public  in  that  the  village  government  sup- 
ported the  school  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  children  within 
its  jurisdiction.  At  this  date,  a  log  court  house  was  built,  and 
when  the  school  house  was  too  small  for  the  accommodation 
of  those  who  wished  to  attend,  which  occurred  in  the  fall  and 
winter  terms,  when  those  boys  assisting  at  agricultural  work 
in  the  spring  and  summer  were  at  leisure  to  attend  school, 
another  teacher  was  employed  by  the  village  authorities,  and 
the  log  court  house  was  utilized  as  a  school  house.  In  these 
days,  when  the  state  holds  a  proud  position  among  sister 
states  for  her  advance  and  progress  in  school  systems,  en- 


588     THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT. 

vironed  as  she  is  with  educational  facihties,  the  senses  fail  to 
grasp  these  primitive  methods  of  rudimentary  instruction. 

At  a  special  legislative  session  in  August,  1839,  an  act 
was  adopted  dividing  the  counties  into  school  districts.  Iowa 
county  was  divided  into  sixteen  school  districts  soon  after  the 
adoption  of  this  act,  and  in  a  short  time,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
county  board  of  supervisors,  the  number  was  increased  to 
twenty-one,  and  inspectors  were  elected  for  each  district.  It 
was  enacted,  that  every  town  with  not  less  than  ten  families 
should  be  a  school  district,  and  required  to  provide  a  com- 
petent teacher,  and  from  this  date  Mineral  Point  was  never 
without  public  schools,  presided  over  by  the  best  teachers  to  be 
obtained. 

In  1840  a  public  school  was  held  in  the  second  story  of 
the  new  Odd  Fellows'  hall,  and,  as  heretofore,  an  appropria- 
tion was  made  by  the  village  authorities  to  provide  a  teacher 
for  the  entire  school  year.  Forty  pupils  were  entered  on  the 
roll.  Up  to  this  date,  the  village  did  not  own  a  school  build- 
ing, always  renting  a  place,  but  in  the  fall  of  1840,  by  a  vote 
of  the  citizens,  the  sum  of  $500  was  raised  to  build  a  school 
house.  It  was  constructed  of  stone  and  brick,  consisting  of 
one  room,  twenty-six  by  thirty  feet  in  area,  twelve  feet  high, 
with  small  divisions  for  cloak  rooms.  Mr.  C.  C.  Rynersen, 
who  had  been  teaching  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  hall,  took  charge 
of  this  school ;  but,  as  before,  the  increase  of  scholars  in  the 
winter  terms  necessitated  the  use  of  the  court  house.  Dr.  Losey, 
who  had  previously  been  employed,  was  again  engaged,  hav- 
ing a  large  patronage.  Mr.  J.  E.  Heaton  followed  Mr.  Ry- 
nersen as  teacher  in  the  public  school. 

An  excellent  private  school  was  started  by  Mr.  Hollow, 
a  preacher,  assisted  by  his  two  daughters.  This  school  was 
well  patronized  by  parents  who  did  not  wish  their  children 
to  associate  with  the  rude  boys  of  the  public  school.  From 
time  to  time  other  private  schools  were  held  for  a  brief  time, 
by  those  who  could  not  find  any  other  employment. 

There  were  not  any  other  important  changes  in  the 
schools  until  1844,  when  the  county  board  of  school  com- 
missioners was  organized,  and  those  persons  wishing  to 
teach  were  obliged  to  be  examined,  according  to  an  adopted 
standard.  At  that  time,  all  rents  on  ores  raised  on  school 
lands  (every  sixteenth  section)  reverted  to  the  school  fund. 
The  receipts  from  these  mineral  rents,  in  1844,  amounted  to 
nearly  $400,  which  was  distributed  among  the  school  districts, 
at  the  rate  of  eighteen  cents  a  scholar.     Until  the  state  law 


THE  SCHfX)LS  OF  IOWA  COl'NTY  AND  MINERAL  I'OIXT.      589 

went  into  force,  in  the  spring  of  1849,  there  was  no  dearth  of 
good  schools  in  Mineral  Point,  as  fine  as  were  in  existence 
at  that  time.  A  private  school,  taught  by  Mr.  Moore,  in  the 
basement  of  the  5lethodist  church,  a  substantial  stone  struc- 
ture, one  taught  by  Percival  T.  Millette  in  the  basement  of 
the  Presbyterian  church,  and  one  in  the  basement  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  taught  by  a  lady — these,  with  the  two 
public  schools,  made  five  desirable  schools.  After  the 
admission  of  Wisconsin  as  a  state,  and  the  adoption  of  the 
system  of  public  schools  as  established  by  law,  a  county  con- 
vention was  called,  which  resulted  in  favor  of  at  once  pro- 
viding ample  accommodations  for  the  two  hundred  scholars, 
and  bringing  the  new  school  system  into  immediate  use. 
This  gave  a  fresh  impetus  to  the  advancement  of  the  existing 
schools,  and  the  reports  of  general  progress  were  excellent. 

One  of  the  private  schools  in  existence  at  this  date  was  a 
Roman  Catholic  "sisters' "  school,  of  St.  Paul's  church,  which 
was  started  by  Rev.  Victor  Jouanneault,  a  French  priest  in 
charge  of  the  mission,  and  taught  by  himself,  until  some 
Dominican  sisters  of  Sinsinawa  Mound  were  procured.  The 
school  was  successfully  carried  on,  until  within  a  few  years, 
when  the  system  of  our  pul)lic  schools  was  so  satisfying  to  all 
classes  that  this  early  school  of  St.  Paul 's  church  was  closed. 

No  marked  change  was  exhibited  in  Mineral  Point 
schools  until  1856,  when  a  city  charter  was  drafted,  which 
was  accepted  and  approved  by  an  act  of  the  legislature.  By 
this  charter,  the  city  of  Mineral  Point  was  divided  into  two 
wards,  and  the  feasibility  ( »f  building  a  "  Second  ward  school," 
as  the  two  school  houses  were  both  situated  in  the  Pir.st  ward, 
was  broached,  and  decided  by  the  authorities  in  favor 
of  building.  Subsequently  this  decision  was  postponed 
and  a  brick  building,  us^d  as  an  "  old  school  Presbyterian  " 
church,  was  bought  by  the  city,  and  fitted  up  for  a  school 
house.  The  principal  reason  for  this  change  of  base  was  the 
project  of  starting  a  Methodist  seminary,  with  a  large  board 
of  trustees,  and  as  a  majority  of  the  people  were  Methodists, 
it  was  the  opinion  of  the  city  fathers  that  a  new  school  house 
in  the  Second  ward  would  be  unnecessary.  In  1857,  the 
Methodist  seminary  was  built,  a  large,  two-story  brick  edifice, 
substantial  and  commodious,  on  one  of  the  best  sites  in  the 
city.  Rev.  John  Nolan  was  the  first  teacher  in  charge  and 
conducted  it  until  1861.  The  projectors  proved  not  equal  to 
their  promises,  either  in  paying  off  the  mortgage,  or  support- 
ing it  by  their  patronage.'    The   mortgage   of    ^5,000   was 


590     THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT. 

owned  by  the  city,  and  as  the  institution  was  not  profitable, 
a  proposition  was  made  to  the  city  authorities  to  purchase  it 
for  a  public  school.  An  unanimous  vote  of  the  citizens  was 
in  favor  of  the  purchase,  which  was  at  once  completed^  and 
the  building  so  arranged  for  occupancy  that  the  school  was 
divided  into  seven  departments — one  high  school,  three  in- 
termediate, three  primary.  The  first  teacher  employed  by 
the  city  as  principal  of  the  high  school  was  Mr.  I.  E.  Pills- 
bury,  one  of  his  daughters  being  first  assistant.  An  an- 
nual salary  of  $1,800  was  paid  Mr.  Pillsbury.  A  city  super- 
intendent was  elected,  and  up  to  the  present  date  the  estab- 
lished school  system  has  been  in  operation. 

In  1867,  by  a  vote  of  the  citizens  in  its  favor,  a  Second 
ward  school  building  was  erected,  built  of  the  native  sand- 
stone, containing  four  spacious  rooms  lor  primary  and  inter- 
mediate departments,  to  be  used  by  the  children  residing  in 
the  Second  ward  of  the  city.  A  large  and  pleasant  play- 
ground surrounds  the  school,  with  a  shaded  avenue  leading 
to  the  entrance.  In  1891  it  was  found  necessary  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  children  to  add  two  rooms.  The 
addition  harmonizes  with  the  old  structure  in  material  and 
architecture.  All  the  rooms  are  sunny  and  cheerful,  having 
a  south  exposure.  In  winter  they  are  well  heated  by  hot  air 
and  well- ventilated  by  cold  air  flues.  In  discipline  and  over- 
sight it  is  subject  to  the  principal  of  the  high  school.  It  com- 
prises a  preparatory  department,  taught  by  Mr.  Peterson, 
where  those  who  have  nearly  completed  the  studies  required 
to  admit  them  to  the  high  school,  but  are  not  quite  prepared 
in  one  or  two  branches,  instead  of  remaining  in  the  grammar 
school  to  repeat  a  whole  year's  work,  have  their  ambition 
aroused  to  master  the  failures  in  their  examinations,  as  well 
as  enter  the  high  school  in  class  C  instead  of  class  D.  The 
other  rooms  are  used  for  three  intermediate  departments  and 
two  primary.  The  number  of  scholars  at  present  date  is  285; 
the  number  of  teachers  is  six. 

The  First  ward  school  house,  before  mentioned  as 
originally  a  Methodist  seminary,  has  six  rooms,  besides  recita- 
tion rooms  and  office.  The  present  course  in  the  high  school 
department  extends  through  four  years,  and  may  be  either 
English  or  modern  classical.  In  the  English  the  studies  are 
arithmetic,  grammar,  geography,  reading,  physical  geography^ 
physiology.  United  States  history,  rhetoric,  constitutions, 
physics,  algebra,  general  history,  geology,  bookkeeping,  geom- 
etry, English  literature,  astronomy,  political  economy,  peda- 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT.      591 

gogy.  The  studies  in  the  classical  course  are  the  same,  with 
three  years  of  Latin  added.  The  enrollment  in  the  high  school 
is  ninety,  with  an  average  attendance  of  eighty-six.  Three 
teachers  are  employed.  Mr.  Jolley  is  principal.  The  present 
standing  of  Mineral  Point  schools  is  not  below  any  in  the 
state.  The  buildings  are  commodious  and  well  furnished. 
There  is  a  fine  piano  in  the  high  school-room,  and  a  very  useful 
library,  which  is  being  annually  added  to  by  the  united 
efforts  of  the  pupils. 

In  1869  a  parish  school  house  was  built,  in  connection  with 
the  Episcopal  church — a  plain,  one-story  frame  house,  but 
commodious,  well-lighted,  and  well-ventilated,  with  two 
recitation-rooms,  and  three  entrances — one  for  boys,  one 
for  girls,  and  the  other  for  small  children.  This  school  house 
has  a  capacity  of  150  children.  Rev.  Lyman  Phelps,  the 
rector  of  Trinity  church,  at  that  date,  was  the  projector  and 
principal,  assisted  by  several  teachers  of  ability.  The  school 
was  a  great  success  during  Rev.  Phelps'  charge,  many  appli- 
cants for  admission  being  denied,  for  want  of  room.  Before 
the  school  house  was  built  the  school  was  held  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  church,  until  it  overflowed — hence  the  parish 
building.  The  school  was  in  successful  operation  until  the 
failing  health  of  the  rector  caused  him  to  resign,  in  1874 
— after  the  school  had  been  in  operation  for  nine  years. 
After  the  close  of  the  school  the  building  was  used  for  various 
purposes,  connected  with  church  affairs,  until  1889,  when  the 
city  authorities  decided  to  rent  it  from  the  church,  to  use  as 
a  public  primary  school,  as  the  First  ward  school  building 
was  too  crowded  for  comfort.  The  parish  school  building 
was  leased  for  five  years,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  decision  is 
attested  in  the  increased  interest  and  proficiency  of  the  little 
students.  Two  teachers  are  employed  here,  and  some  kinder- 
garten work  is  in  use.  Enrollment  of  children  120,  average 
attendance,  95  ;  ages  of  the  children  from  four  to  nine  years. 
The  total  number  of  children  attending  the  public  schools  of 
the  city  of  Mineral  Point  is  650  ;  the  number  of  teachers  em- 
ployed is  fifteen. 

The  city  of  Dodgeville  is  the  present  county  seat  of 
Iowa  county,  and  is  very  nearly  the  geographical  centre  of 
the  county.  In  priority  of  schools  in  Iowa  county  it  is  next 
to  Mineral  Point.  The  first  school  taught  in  the  town  of 
Dodgeville,  the  present  city,  was  in  1834  by  Robert  Boyer, 
whom  I  have  before  mentioned  in  this  chronicle  as  an  itin- 
erant school  master.     This  school  was  opened  just  after  the 


592   THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  C'Ol'XTV  AND  MINERAL  I'OIXT. 

close  of  the  Black  Hawk  war.  The  earliest  school  held  in  the 
village  proper  was  in  1845.  The  oiie-storv  building  then 
used  is  yet  pointed  out  by  the  pioneer  as  the  first  cradle  of 
learning,  where  now  exists  the  finest  school  building  in  the 
county.  This  early  school  was  supported  by  the  parents  of 
the  pupils,  who  paid  pro  rata.  Until  the  year  1853  Dodge- 
ville  did  not  own  a  school  building,  the  different  buildings 
occupied  for  schools  being  rented.  The  town  of  Dodgeville 
was  organized  in  1849.  At  this  date  the  citizens  held  several 
meetings,  in  the  interest  of  erecting  a  public  school  house, 
numbers  urging  that  a  tax  for  building  be  voted  ;  but,  as  a 
majorit}'  were  not  in  favor  of  building,  the  matter  was  drop- 
ped. However,  a  superintendent  of  schools  was  elected,  Rev. 
A.  S.  Allan.  In  1 853  the  village  government  was  authorized 
to  erect  two  small  buildings  to  be  used  as  public  schools,  one 
to  be  built  of  the  native  stone,  the  other  a  frame.  The  text 
books  used  were  Goodrich's  readers,  Colburn's  mental  arith- 
metic, Adams'  practical  arithmetic,  Bullion's  grammar, 
Smith's  geography,  Webster's  spelling  book,  Fulton's  and 
Eastman's  penmanship.  In  1864  the  two  districts  were  con- 
solidated, the  town  hall  rented  for  a  high  school,  w^hile  the 
old  buildings  were  occupied  as  intermediate  and  primary  de- 
partments. Mr.  Merrill  Fellows  was  the  first  principal  of  the 
high  school,  followed  bv  J.  T.  Prvor.  Jr,  in  1866;  M.  T.  Currv, 
1867;  Phihp  Eden,  1868;  J.  T.  Pfvor  from  1869  to  1874 :  MV. 
Frawlev,  1875;  J.  H.  Pike,  1876, 1877 ;  J.  ^Y.  Livingston,  1878 
to  1888 ;     L.  L.  Clark  from  1888  to  present  date. 

To-day,  Dodgeville  has  the  finest  school  building  in  the 
county — a  handsome,  modern  structure  of  red  brick,  with 
every  appliance  and  convenience  for  good  work.  The 
grounds  are  extensive,  well-laid  out  and  well-cared  for ;  it 
being  the  pride  of  every  pupil  to  endeavor  to  excel  all 
other  school  grounds  in  the  county.  To  Professor  J.  W.  Liv- 
ingston may  be  attributed  the  project  and  execution  of  this 
fine  school  house  and  its  surroundings  (aided  and  abetted  by 
the  hearty  co-operation  of  Dodgeville's  progressive  citizens) 
as  well  as  the  formulation  of  the  present  course  of  study,  the 
general  standing  of  the  pupils  attesting  to  its  character.  The 
building  consists  of  ten  rooms,  besides  library,  office  and 
halls.  The  high  school  room  is  25x42  feet,  eight  rooms  each 
25x33  feet,  one  room  15x33  feet. 

The  enrollment  this  Columbian  year  is  500 — girls  268, 
boys  232 ;  the  excess  of  girls  is  in  the  high  school.  Many 
of  the  graduates  become  students  at  the  university,  as  the 
citizens  are  enterprising  and  prosperous. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COl'NTY  AXD  MINERAL  POINT.     593 

Outside  of  the  two  cities  of  Iowa  county,  viz.,  Mineral 
Point  and  Dodgeville,  there  are  fourteen  towns  in  tlie 
county — Arena,  Briglmm,  Clyde,  Dotlgeville,  Eden,  High- 
land, Linden,  Mitttin,  Mineral  Point,  Moscow,  Pulaski, 
Ridgeway,  Waldwick,  Wyoming. 

ARENA. 

As  the  developing  of  the  mines  of  Iowa  county  was 
the  prime  factor  in  the  settlement  of  the  pioneers,  and  Arena 
was  not  embraced  in  the  mining  belt,  the  earliest  settler  of 
this  town  was  in  1843,  on  government  lands.  As  subsequent 
farms  were  scattered  over  a  large  territory,  no  school  house 
was  built  until  1846,  when  the  few  children  in  the  district 
often  had  to  walk  four  or  five  miles  to  school.  But  educa- 
tion has  not  been  neglected,  from  the  earliest  founding  of  the 
school  house ;  and  as  the  population  increased,  school  houses 
were  added  in  different  parts  of  the  town  ;  until  now  Arena 
has  fifteen  separate  school  districts,  and  fourteen  school 
buildings,  with  an  attendiince  of  447  scholars,  and  their 
standing  is  pronounced  by  the  county  superintendent  to  V)e 
as  advanced  as  any  in  the  county. 

BRIGHA^kl 

was  a  portion  of  the  large  township  of  Ridgeway,  but 
the  advent  of  railroads,  and  the  location  of  stations,  has  made 
a  business  center  of  the  village  of  Barneveld  (the  only  village 
in  Brigham  township)  and  its  enterprising  citizens  have 
converted  a  school  section,  as  it  was  formerly  called,  into  a 
busy  market  town.  With  the  gathering  of  the  various  ele- 
ments of  social  life,  the  intellectual  needs  of  a  community 
are  soon  felt.  The  village  of  Barneveld  has  a  commodious 
school  house,  with  two  departments,  while  the  six  districts 
of  the  town  show  eleven  school  houses,  with  an  attendance 
of  408  children. 

CLYDE 

was  first  settled  in  1849,  and  in  1850  u  private  school 
was  held  in  a  carpenter's  shop,  but  in  1851  a  small  school 
house  was  built  for  the  accommodation  of  the  few  children 
living  in  the  section ;  and  from  this  schools  have  continued 
to  increase,  until  now  Clyde  supports  five  school  houses  in 
good  condition,  benefiting  170  children.  As  the  citizens  of 
Clyde  realize  the  importance  of  competent  teachers,  they  are 
very  generous  in  giving  excellent  stdaries;  consequently, 
•command  the  best  in  the  countv. 


594     THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COVNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT. 
DODGEVILLE 

town  is  coeval  with  the  city,  and  therefore  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  town  of  Dodgeville  as  regards  education  is  the 
same  as  of  the  city.  The  state  school  system  is  in  force 
throughout  the  town,  and  the  number  of  school  districts 
wholly  within  the  town  is  ten  ;  number  of  school  houses,  six- 
teen ;  number  of  children  attending  school  the  past  year, 
466.  All  the  school  houses  in  the  township  are  in  excellent 
condition,  and  the  pupils  are  stimulated  to  good  work  by 
the  excellent  and  efficient  corps  of  teachers  employed. 

EDEN 

was  originally  a  part  of  the  township  of  Highland,  but  be- 
came independent  at  the  desire  of  a  majority  of  the  residents 
in  the  vicinity.  The  name  of  the  post-office  is  Cobb.  The 
Northwestern  railroad  has  a  station  at  this  place,  which  is  a 
flourishing  village,  with  a  modern  school  building,  attractive 
and  desirable.  It  is  divided  into  four  departments — a  high 
school,  two  intermediate  and  two  primary.  At  present  there 
are  five  school  houses  in  the  township,  and  259  children  in 
attendance. 

HIGHLAND 

is  an  important  mining  town  and  vies  with  Mineral  Point 
and  Dodgeville  in  the  early  emigration  of  miners;  but  its 
educational  advantages  were  not  developed  as  early  as  the 
others,  probably  owing  to  the  heterogeneous  population,  which 
was  constantly  fluctuating.  The  village  of  Highland  has  a 
fine  public  school,  graded  according  to  the  established  sys- 
tem. For  many  years  a  Roman  Catholic  school,  connected 
with  the  church,  has  had  a  flourishing  existence,  and  is  yet 
a  power  in  the  village.  The  town  of  Highland,  including 
the  village,  reports  six  districts,  eight  school  houses  and  538 
pupils. 

The  earliest  school  house  was  erected  in  1845,  and  was 
also  used  as  a  Methodist  church.  The  present  building  has 
been  in  use  since  1875,  and  is  well  arranged  and  equipped 
for  the  three  departments  into  which  it  is  divided.  Its  man- 
agement is  a  credit  to  Iowa  county. 

LINDEN 

is  an  ancient  town,  as  judged  by  the  settlement  of  Wisconsin. 
The  first  immigration  was  in  1827,  when  valuable  ranges 
and  lodes  of  mineral  were  first  discovered.  The  population 
gradually   increased    until   the  breaking   out  of  the   Black 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT.     595 

Hawk  war,  when  the  town,  for  a  time,  was  deserted.  But  in 
1837  a  generous  immigation  was  again  attracted.  Some  of 
the  finest  farming  lands  in  the  county  are  located  in  Linden 
township.  The  prevailing  nationalities  are  English  and 
Welsh.  The  first  school  in  the  town  was  held  in  a  Metho- 
dist church  in  the  present  village  of  Linden,  formerly  known 
as  "Peddler's  Creek,"  and  consisted  of  twenty  children,  taught 
by  Mr.  Seabury.  The  sturdy  miners  appreciated  the  value  of 
early  storing  the  mind  with  useful  knowledge  and  paid  pro 
rata  for  their  children.  There  are  two  villages  in  this  town- 
ship, Linden  and  Edmund,  and  in  both  villages  are  well- 
built  school  houses,  with  graded  schools,  having  three  de- 
partments. Much  interest  is  taken  in  the  welfare  of  their 
schools  by  the  residents,  and  from  those  who  liave  graduated 
at  the  high  schools  many  competent  teachers  are  employed 
in  the  county.  In  the  township  are  eight  school  districts 
wholly  within  the  the  town,  and  four  joint  districts.  The 
pupils  attending  number  503,  occupying  ten  school  houses. 

MINERAL    POINT 

township  is  also  identified  with  the  city.  The  development 
of  education  throughout  the  area  has  been  steady  and 
progressive,  and  hardly  a  mile  can  be  passed  over  without 
noticing  the  neatiy  painted  school  house.  As  soon  as  the 
pupils  are  advanced  enough  to  enter  the  high  school  in  the 
city,  there  they  are  to  he  found.  Number  of  school  districts 
wholly  within  the  town  of  Mineral  Point  is  twelve;  parts 
of  joint  districts,  three;  school  houses  existing  in  1892,  four- 
teen ;  pupils  attending,  347. 

MOSCOW, 

Iowa  county,  is  principally  settled  by  Scandinavians,  and 
almost  as  soon  as  a  settlement  was  made  in  the  town, 
schools  were  introduced.  The  first  school  (1847)  was  held 
in  a  log  cabin,  and  when  the  town  had  an  organization,  the 
school  house  was  supplanted  by  a  neat  frame  building. 
Since  the  building  of  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  through 
the  town,  several  villages  have  sprung  up.  In  the  ten  dis- 
tricts of  the  town  there  are  nine  school  houses,  accommodat- 
ing 360  pupils. 

MIFFLIN, 

like  Linden,  and  adjoining  it,  lies  in  the  rich  mining 
belt  of  Southwest  Wisconsin,  though  the  fertile  farming 
lands  of  Linden  township  are  extended  into  Miftiin.  The 
first  cultivation  of  the  beautiful    prairie   lands    was    under- 


596     THE  SCHOOLS  OF  TOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAr.  I'OINT. 

taken  in  1830  by  immigrants  from  Kentucky,  and  the  rich- 
est farmers  of  Iowa  county  live  in  the  towns  of  Mifflin  and 
Linden.  A  large  settlement  of  \W^lsh  occu])y  a  portion  of 
the  town,  and  these  sturdy  people  fully  appreciate  a  good 
education  for  their  children.  The  first  school  was  established 
in  1842  at  the  village  of  Mifflin,  also  one  on  the  border  line 
of  Grant  county.  Two  villages  are  in  the  town,  Mifflin  and 
Rewey.  The  old  school  house  in  Mifflin  village  has  been 
replaced  by  a  substantial  stone  structure,  wliich  is  large 
enough  to  comfortably  seat  300  children,  and  is  divided  into 
three  compartments.  This  year  the  report  of  the  county 
superintendent  gives  nine  school  districts  in  the  town  and 
three  joint  districts  ;  school  houses,  nine  ;  children  attending 
school,  353.  The  figures  include  the  village  of  Rewey, 
which  was  not  platted  until  1880,  but  now  has  an  excellent 
school  building  of  graded  character. 

PULASKI 

lies  on  the  banks  of  the  Wisconsin  river.  It  was  first 
settled  in  the  year  1835,  for  the  tilling  of  the  lands  of  this 
fertile  valle}^,  and  its  present  condition  of  thrift  fully  meets 
the  expectations  of  the  pioneers.  The  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
&  Saint  Paul  railroad  runs  through  the  village  of  Pulaski, 
and  also  through  Avoca,  another  village  in  the  townshij). 
The  earliest  school  was  held  in  a  private  house,  in  1846. 
Only  one  room  formed  the  entire  house,  and  the  family 
lived  there  at  the  same  time  that  the  ten  children  were 
being  taught  their  three  R's.  This  scliool  was  contiimed  in 
the  same  manner  until,  under  the  law  of  1847,  the  townshi]) 
was  entitled  to  state  or  territorial  money  for  school  purposes. 
This  was  utilized  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  school  house, 
which  was  also  used  for  a  church  and  town  hall.  The  vil- 
lage of  Avoca,  in  this  township,  was  created  in  1857,  and  the 
first  school  was  taught  here  the  same  year,  in  a  primitive 
log  house.  In  1858  a  new  two-story  frame  school  house  was 
built,  which  now  constitutes  a  wing  of  the  present  building. 
Another  Aving  of  equal  size  was  added  in  1877.  There  is  a 
good  high  school  here.  The  school  has  three  departments, 
and  is  well  supported  and  protected  by  the  citizens.  The 
township  of  Pulaski  has  five  school  districts,  six  school 
houses,  and  an  attendance  of  327  children. 

RIDGEWAY 

is  the  largest  town  in  the  county  of  Iowa,  as  its  area  is  ten 
mihs  from  east  to  west,  and  eleven  miles  from  north  tosoutli. 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT.     597 

In  the  township  is  the  highest  point  of  land  in  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  the  West  Blue  Mound  ;  many  Scandinavians 
are  settled  here,  and  it  is  the  seat  of  the  Lutheran  church  in 
Wisconsin,  The  mining  interests  are  large,  and  contest 
with  the  dairy  products  in  the  importance  of  exports.  The 
numerous  schools  in  the  township  are  well  attended  and  well 
patronized.  A  number  of  private  Lutheran  schools  are 
located  within  its  boundaries.  Barneveld,  the  only  village 
in  the  town,  was  settled  at  an  early  day,  but  did  not  arrive 
at  its  present  importance,  until  it  was  made  a  station  on  the 
Northwestern  road.  Now  the  village  has  a  good  public  school, 
besides  a  private  Lutheran  school.  Some  of  the  school  houses 
in  the  township  are  said  to  be  the  best  country  structures  in 
the  county.  The  earliest  school  was  held  in  a  private  house, 
built  of  logs,  and  occupied  by  one  Richard  Williams,  in  1840. 
Now  the  conveniences  for  educating  the  youth  are  literally 
spread  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  township,  as  the 
Lutheran  schools  dot  every  hamlet,  and  the  strict  nature  of 
their  methods  precludes  everything  superficial  in  educating 
the  children  under  their  tutelage.  The  public  schools  note 
an  attendance  of  261  children. 

WALDWICK 

is  the  center  of  a  large  and  important  agricultural  district. 
As  early  as  1841  a  school  of  twenty-five  children  was  taught 
in  a  private  house,  by  Mr.  Grizzle,  at  a  salary  of  $11.00  per 
month ;  his  school  only  lasted  three  months,  and  in  1842  a 
school  house  was  built.  There  are  now  in  the  town  six 
school  houses,  with  a  capacity  for  305  children.  Six  teachers 
are  employed  at  an  average  salary  of  $21.00  per  month. 
Being  only  a  few  miles  from  the  city  of  Mineral  Point,  chil- 
dren, even  in  the  lowest  grades,  enter  the  city  schools. 

WYOMING 

nestles  in  the  picturesque  valley  of  the  Wisconsin  river. 
Educationally  it  is  superior  to  a  large  majority  of  the  county 
towns.  A  public  school  house  was  built  in  1845,  when  there 
were  but  sixteen  children,  all  of  school  age,  in  the  town.  Six 
neat  and  attractive  school  houses  have  superseded  the  log 
structure  of  1845,  in  which  124  pupils  are  preparing  for  the 
race  of  life.  But  the  school  par  excellence  in  Wyoming  is 
"Hillside  Home,"  a  private  school  which  was  projected  and 
established  by  the  principals  and  proprietors,  the  Misses 
Lloyd-Jones,  in  1887,  on  the  site  of  their  home  farm,  which  is 
charmingly   located   in   the   blufi'  region  of  the  Wisconsin. 


598     THE  SCHOOLS  OF  IOWA  COUNTY  AND  MINERAL  POINT, 

Every  natural  beauty  has  been  enhanced  by  cultivation 
The  "home"  proper  is  an  irregular  frame  structure,  three 
stories  high,  after  the  style  of  modern  architecture,  with  par- 
lors, library,  music-room,  dining-hall,  dormitories  and  small 
reception  rooms,  where  are  displayed  samples  of  the  flora  and 
fauna  found  in  the  vicinity.  Broad  porches  are  on  every 
side,  from  which  can  be  seen  the  grand  and  impressive 
scenery  of  the  surrounding  country,  as  well  as  the  sloping 
lawn,  level  tennis  court,  ga}'  flower  beds,  and  neighboring 
farms.  This  is  only  one  of  a  group  of  six  buildings,  devoted 
to  tlie  "character  building"  ot  its  pupils,  which  is  the  aim  of 
the  institution.  The  formulated  course  of  study  is  "an  at- 
tempt to  apply  the  principles  of  Herbert  Spencer,  Froebel, 
and  other  exponents  of  the  new  education."  A  large  corps 
of  teachers  is  employed,  of  superior  ability  ;  moral  and  physi- 
cal training  are  added  to  the  intellectual. 

As  a  summary  of  the  schools  of  Iowa  county,  in  this 
Columbian  year,  they  rank  with  the  best  in  the  state, outside 
of  the  large  cities,  and  are  still  advancing. 

Mrs.  J.  Montgomery  Smith. 


Sauk  County  Schools. 


I. THE     FIHST    SCHOOLS,    AND    THE     SYSTEM    OF     TOWN    SCHOOL 

SUPERINTENDENTS. 

The  educational  history  of  Sauk  county  naturally  falls 
into  two  periods,  viz.:  That  of  the  organization  of  the  first 
schools,  and  the  system  of  town  school  superintendents  and 
the  system  of  county  superintendents.  What  is  now  called 
Sauk  county  was  first  settled  in  the  year  1838,  hy  one  John 
Wilson,  who  located  at  Wilson's  Creek,  in  what  is  now  the 
town  of  Troy.  The  present  Sauk  county  was  then  a  part  of 
Crawford  county.  In  1840  it  was  attached  to  Dane  county, 
and  in  1849  was  organized  as  a  separate  political  division, 
comprising  the  towns  of  Baraboo,  Eagle,  Honey  Creek,  Kings- 
ton, Prairie  du  Sac  and  Brooklyn.  Even  in  this  chaotic 
period,  the  necessity  of  education  was  felt,  and,  soon  after  the 
earliest  settlements,  the  school  and  the  school-master  appear. 
The  first  settlements  were  made  in  the  town  of  Troy,  at  Sauk 
City,  Prairie  du  Sac,  Baraboo  and  Reedsburg,  and  we  must 
therefore  look  to  these  places  for  our  first  schools. 

BARABOO    SCHOOLS. 

Probably  the  first  school  established  in  Sauk  county 
was  the  one  founded  by  E.  M.  Hart,  at  Baraboo,  in  the  year 
1843.  It  was  a  private  school,  and  was  very  humble  in  its 
beginnings,  but  it  was  prosperous.  Soon  after  a  school 
district  was  organized  and  a  public  school  was  established, 
of  which  Mr.  Hart  became  the  first  teacher.  The  principal 
teachers  that  succeeded  Mr.  Hart,  until  1850,  were  R.  P. 
Clement,  D.  K.  Noyes  and  William  Joy.  In  1850  a  commo- 
dious frame  school  house,  two  stories  high,  containing  three 
departments,  was  constructed.  This  building  was  used  for 
school  purposes  until  1868,  when  the  new  high  school  build- 
ing was  erected.  The  following  were  the  principal  teachers 
from  1851  to  1862,  the  beginning  of  the  county  superinten; 
dencv  system  :  1852,  D.  G.  Moore;  1858,  George  R.  Clark  - 
1854^^  Nancy  Wyman  ;  1855,  Mr.  Smith  ;  1856,  J.  Lovell ; 
1857,  S.J.  Hart;  1858-1860,  A.  L.  Burnham ;  1861,  Mrs. 
O.  W.  Fox.     During   this   period    the   work    done   by    Mr. 

599 


600  SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

Burnham  deserves  especial  mention,  since  his  ability  as  an 
instructor  and  manager  made  the  schools  of  Baraboo  famous 
for  their  superiority.  During  this  formative  period  the  many 
private  schools  of  Baraboo  were  very  popular  institutions, 
because  the  public  schools  for  various  reasons  were  poor. 
In  addition  to  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Hart,  Miss  Marie  Train 
opened  a  select  school  in  1854,  and  conducted  it  for  about 
two  years.  Mr.  A.  Bassett  then  obtained  a  charter  for  a 
female  seminary,  and  in  1836  it  was  opened  at  Baraboo,  the 
first  and  only  school  of  that  kind  in  Sauk  county.  The 
school  continued  under  the  management  of  Mary  Potter  for 
three  years  with  excellent  success.  In  1859  Mary  Mortimer 
took  charge  of  it,  and  it  continued  to  prosper  until  Mr.  Bass- 
ett, on  account  of  failure  in  business,  was  obliged  to  withdraw 
his  support  from  the  school.  In  1854  another  institution, 
known  as  Cochran's  high  school,  was  established  by  Rev. 
Warren  Cochran.  Not  long  after  plans  were  developed  for 
founding  a  college,  and  the  Baraboo  collegiate  institute 
was  incorporated  with  Warren  Cochran  as  its  first  principal, 
and  Miss  Savage  and  A.  L.  Burnham  as  instructors.  After 
the  new  college  building  was  erected  Professor  Pillsbury, 
of  New  York,  was  called  to  the  principalship,  but  did  not 
serve  long.  Professor  E.  F.  Hobert,  of  Beloit  college,  suc- 
ceeded him.  His  abilities  soon  filled  the  room  of  the  col- 
lege with  students  from  various  parts  of  the  county  and 
state.  Three  years  later  he  was  succeeded  by  Professor  J.  S. 
Kimball,  a  Dartmouth  graduate,  who  became  sole  proprie- 
tor of  the  college,  which  now  gradually  declined  in  numbers,  in 
consequence  of  the  development  of  good  free  public  schools. 
The  district  school  of  Lyons,  a  suburb  of  Baraboo,  was  organ- 
ized in  1848,  and  the  first  school  was  taught  by  Daniel 
Ruggles  in  1849. 

SAUK   CITY. 

The  territory  of  Sauk  City  and  Prairie  du  Sac  was  at  first 
united  in  one  school  district.  No  record  is  now  existing  to 
show  who  was  the  first  teacher,  or  when  the  first  school  house 
was  built,  but  the  district  was  organized  August  7th,  1847, 
and  John  Russell  was  probably  the  first  teacher.  Teachers' 
wages  were  very  low  at  that  time,  as  one  contract  with  Jane 
White  shows.  She  was  to  teach  six  weeks  for  $21,  and 
another  with  J.  B.  Bates  shows  that  he  was  to  teach  for  $6  per 
month  and  board  himself.  Jo.seph  Pound,  J.  B.  Quimby, 
Peter  Conrad,  Phelinda  Stevens  and  Mr.  Lindner  were  the 


SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  601 

principal  teachers  during  this  period.  In  1855  the  district 
already  possessed  a  library  of  113  volumes,  and  during  the 
succeeding  year  thirty  volumes  of  German  books  were  added. 
In  1853  the  district  had  its  first  Arbor  day,  which  was  prob- 
ably the  first  observed  in  the  state.  The  idea  was  brought 
from  Germany.  Some  of  the  trees  planted  on  that  day  grace- 
the  school  grounds  to-day,  and  are  large  and  beautiful  monu-^ 
ments  of  the  first  Arbor  day.  Charles  Hallasz  performed  the 
work  of  planting  the  trees.  During  the  period  of  the  town 
superintendency,  school  supervision  and  teachers'  examina- 
tions were  easy  tasks.  It  sometimes  happened  that  the  super- 
intendent could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  teachers  were 
obliged  to  make  out  their  own  certificates.  At  best,  they  wero 
only  examined  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic  and  spellings 
spelling  being  generally  the  most  important  branch.  One 
superintendent  was  known  never  to  examine  his  teachers  in 
any  other  branch  than  spelling.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
read  a  copy  of  a  teacher's  certificate  issued  by  one  of  the  best 
superintendents  of  the  town  of  Prairie  du  Sac,  which  reads  as- 
follows : 

STATE  OF  WISCONSIN, ) 

County  of  Sauk,  >-ss. 

Town  of  Prairie  du  Sac.  ) 

I  do  hereby  certify  that  I  have  examined  N.  S.  Ferris,  and 
do  believe  that  he  is  qualified,  in  regards  to  moral  character, 
training  and  ability,  to  teach  a  common  school  in  this  town  for 
one  year  from  the  date  hereof. 

Given  under  my  hand  this  9th  day  of  November,  1854. 
Signed, 

Cyrus  Leland, 
Superintendent  of  schools,  town  of  Prairie  du  Sac, 

In  1857  Edward  Schroeder,  a  teacher  from  Germany^ 
founded  a  private  school.  He  had  at  first  only  twelve  pupils,, 
but  later  on  the  school  became  quite  prosperous.  After  the 
public  schools  became  better  it  had  to  be  discontinued,  as  was 
the  case  everywhere  with  private  schools.  In  1854  was  opened 
Turner's  French  academy,  by  H.  .J.  Turner,  of  Utica,  New 
York.  The  school  at  once  had  about  thirty  students  from 
many  of  the  best  families  of  the  state.  For  a  long  time  this 
academy  was  known  as  the  best  French  school  in  the  state. 

PRAIRIE  DU  SAC. 

What  is  said  of  the  early  educational  history  of  Sauk 
City,  applies  to  Prairie  du  Sac,  since  the  two  villages  at  first 


602  SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

comprised  one  school  district,  and  were  always  under  the 
same  town  superintendents.  The  most  noteworthy  educa- 
tional institution  of  Prairie  du  Sac  was  Loyell's  academy,  in 
which  many  of  the  best  teachers  of  Sauk  county  receiyed 
their  training.  The  school  was  conducted  by  Prof.  L.  Loy- 
ell,  a  graduate  of  Yale  college,  assisted  by  Harriet  I.  Loyell. 
The  school  continued  from  1858  to  1865  with  uniform  suc- 
cess. 

REEDSBURG. 

The  first  school  in  this  village  was  taught  by  Mrs. 
Amanda  Chase  during  the  school  year  1849  and  1850,  in  the 
Saxby  house.  The  school  reached  an  enrollment  of  thirty- 
one  pupils  in  the  winter  term.  This  was  a  private  school, 
and  the  next  year  was  discontinued  when  a  public  district 
school  was  organized.  R.  M.  Strong  was  the  first  teacher  of 
the  district  school.  The  schools  of  this  village  were  quite 
prosperous  during  this  period.  In  1854  a  private  school  was 
founded,  known  as  Barbour's  select  school,  which  was  con- 
tinued for  two  years  with  good  success.  In  1856  a  large  two- 
story  frame  school  house  was  erected,  which  continued  in 
use  until  1868,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Several  of 
the  town  school  superintendents  during  this  period  were  able 
men,  and  were  of  much  service  to  the  schools. 

HARRISBURG. 

This  village  has  now  ceased  to  appear  on  the  map  of  the 
state,  but  since  it  was  one  of  the  oldest  villages  in  the  county, 
and  in  the  town  of  Troy,  which  was  the  first  to  be  settled 
in  the  county,  it  deserves  at  least  a  passing  notice  in  this 
sketch.  The  first  school  house  was  built  in  1849,  and  the 
first  school  was  taught  by  Lucinda  Drew  in  1850.  James 
Watson,  John  Young,  Charles  Parker,  Jacob  Remy,  James 
L.  High,  D.  V.  Crandall  were  the  principal  teachers  of  this 
period.  Most  of  the  teachers  of  this  school  had,  for  the  times, 
a  superior  education,  some  being  graduates  of  academies  of 
Massachusetts,  Ohio  and  other  states.  Some  of  the  higher 
branches  were  taught,  and  during  one  year  Miss  Seymour  con- 
ducted a  high  school  for  teachers. 

CONCLUSION. 

This  period,  from  the  establishment  of  the  first  schools 
in  1843  to  the  election  of  the  first  county  superintendent  of 
schools,  is  rightly  called  the  formative  period.  It  was  in 
many  ways  a  chaotic  period,  for  in  those  days  it  was  hard  to 


SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  603 

find  well-qualified  teachers,  and  school  supervision  was  very 
imperfect.  Many  of  the  town  school  superintendents  were 
not  as  well  qualified  as  the  teachers  they  were  required  to 
examine,  but  we  find  germs  of  good  and  promise  of  growth. 
There  were,  after  all,  quite  a  number  of  able  teachers ;  teach- 
ers ahead  of  the  times  and  the  systems  by  which  they  were 
hampered.  Sauk  county  was  especially  fortunate  in  this 
respect.  There  were  on  an  average  during  this  period  about 
thirty  teachers  in  the  county  who  had  received  their  educa- 
tion in  the  academies  of  the  East,  and  in  some  cases  in  such 
institutions  of  learning  as  the  Albany  normal  school,  Yale, 
Harvard,  Dartmouth,  Trinity  college  (Dublin),  and  some 
other  European  institutions.  Schools  in  which  the  alphabet 
and  algebra  were  taught  in  the  same  room  were  quite  com- 
mon, and  many  of  the  pupils  who  attended  the  schools  were 
of  a  maturer  age,  some  twenty  years  old  or  more.  These 
pupils  had  received  their  primary  training  on  the  farm,  in 
close  contact  with  nature,  and  so  had,  in  some  essential  re- 
spects, a  better  preparation  than  many  primary  schools  of 
the  present  day  offer.  The  teachers  of  those  days  were  also 
of  maturer  age  and  in  many  cases  did  more  vigorous  work 
than  the  boy  or  girl  teacher  of  the  present.  All  in  all,  this 
period  was  not  so  bad  educationally  as  some  modern  teacher^ 
are  prone  to  imagine. 

II. — THE  SYSTEM  OF  THE  COUNTY  SUPERINTENDENCY. 

With  January  first,  of  the  year  1862,  a  new  school  era 
opened  in  the  educational  history  of  Sauk  county.  It  was  at 
least  a  beginning  of  system.  It  is  thought  best  to  treat  the 
rest  of  the  educational  history  of  this  county  by  epochs, 
making  one  for  each  superintendent's  administration. 

J.  W.  Morley  was  the  first  county  superintendent  of 
school  in  Sauk  county  and  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office 
January  1st,  1862.  He  was  a  graduate  of  an  Ohio  seminary, 
and  a  teacher  of  considerable  experience.  Sauk  county  owes 
much  to  his  organizing  talent.  As  the  first  superintendent, 
he  had  to  bring  system  into  the  chaos,  and  to  accustom  the 
schools  to  supervision  and  the  teachers  to  new  methods  and 
new  standards.  Knowing  the  value  of  training,  Mr.  Morley 
organized  and  conducted  the  first  teachers'  institute,  at  Del- 
ton,  and  continued  it  for  four  weeks.  This  was  undoubtedly 
one  of  the  most  profitable  institutes  ever  held  in  the  county. 
Mr.  Morley  was  an  untiring  inspector  of  the  schools,  and  a 
judicious  supervisor.  He  was  a  fair  though  not  rigid  examiner. 


604  SAUK   COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

The  experience  of  the  teachers  at  examination  was  quite 
varied.  Some,  who  had  passed  rigid  examinations  under  well- 
quahtied  town  superintendents,  found  the  county  examina- 
tion easy;  while  others  complained  bitterly  of  the  new  and 
unjust  system.  Mr.  Morley  served  the  county  in  this  capacity 
for  four  years,  and  though  not  now  teaching,  still  takes  a 
deep  interest  in  our  educational  affairs. 

Robert  B.  Crandall  assumed  the  duties  of  the  office  of 
county  superintendent  of  schools  January  1st,  1866.  Mr. 
Crandall  had  previously  been  a  teacher,  and  his  re-election 
for  a  second  term  testifies  to  the  fact  that  he  did  his  work 
satisfactorily  to  the  majority  of  the  people.  The  records  of 
the  office  of  superintendent  during  his  incumbency  were  not 
kept  in  books,  and  consequently  have  been  lost  or  destroyed ; 
but  little  can  be  satisfactorily  ascertained  about  his  work. 
After  retiring  from  office  Mr.  Crandall  was  for  a  time  prin- 
cipal of  the  Kilbourn  City  high  school.  Nothing  new  seems 
to  have  been  introduced  during  this  administration,  except 
the  option  system  in  examinations.  Under  this  system 
teachers  were  given  from  fifteen  to  thirty-five  questions  on 
each  branch  of  study  and  were  allowed  to  chose  any  ten  of 
these  to  write  on.  In  this  way  nearly  all  obtained  high 
'standings. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  year  1870,  Charles  F.  Vie- 
bahn  entered  upon  the  duties  of  the  superintendent's  office. 
Mr.  Viebahn  came  to  the  office  eminently  well  qualified  ;  he 
was  a  college  man  and  held  an  unlimited  state  teacher's  cer- 
tificate, which  was  also  the  first  that  had  ever  been  granted  in 
the  state  of  Wisconsin.  Men  of  Mr.  Viebahn's  qualifications 
were  indeed  rare  in  those  times.  His  term  of  office  is  noted 
for  his  searching  school  inspections  and  his  rigorous  teachers' 
examinations,  which  made  him  many  enemies.  The  people 
of  Sauk  county  are  now  better  able  to  appreciate  the  value 
of  this  effort  to  secure  better  qualified  teachers,  and  they  now 
love  Mr.  Viebahn  for  the  enemies  he  made.  His  next  step 
was  to  present  to  each  school  board  of  the  county  his  famous 
"Regulations  for  school  management,"  which  provided  for 
1,  permanent  classification;  2,  examinations  and  promotions 
at  the  end  of  each  term  ;  3,  keeping  of  register  and  class 
record ;  4,  weekly  reviews,  which  were  to  be  both  oral  and 
in  writing;  5,  the  keeping  of  written  examination  and  re- 
view papers  for  the  superintendent's  inspection  ;  6,  com- 
plete weekly  reports  of  teachers  to  parents;  7,  rules  of 
order  to   govern   schools;  8,  legal  adoption  of  text  books. 


SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  605 

The  greatest  act  of  this  administration  was  the  adoption  of  a 
wisely  arranged  course  of  study,  which  was  no  doubt  the  first 
of  the  kind  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  Language  and  arith- 
metic were  made  the  basis  of  classification  in  this  course,  and 
parallel  to  these,  work  in  the  other  branches  of  study  was 
provided  for. 

Institute  work  was  vigorously  pushed  during  this  term 
and  also  teachers'  reading.  One  of  the  famous  regulations 
during  this  term  was  that  teachers  should  conduct  their 
recitations  withoui  using  a  text-book.  Those  that  followed 
this  regulation  say  that  they  were  much  benefited  by  it. 
Mr.  Viebahn  was  also  the  pioneer  in  beginning  to  keep  a 
permanent  record  in  book  form  of  all  the  proceedings  of  his 
office.  It  is  hard  to  understand  how  he  could  inaugurate  so 
many  well-planned  reforms  in  so  short  a  time,  and  also 
attend  so  closely  to  all  the  minor  details  of  the  office,  as  he 
did.  He  will  be  long  remembered  as  the  great  reformer  of 
the  educational  affairs  of  Sauk  county.  Since  retiring  from 
this  office,  Mr.  Viebahn  has  been  principal  of  the  Sauk  city 
and  Manitowoc  high  schools,  and  is  now  the  city  superin- 
tendent of  Watertown,  Wisconsin. 

Moses  Young  assumed  the  duties  of  office  January  1st, 
1872,  but  did  not  perform  any  of  the  duties  of  his  office  and 
resigned  in  March  of  the  same  year,  because  he  was  not  an 
educational  man.  The  state  department  of  instruction  was 
then  petitioned  to  appoint  J.  H.  Terry,  of  Spring  Green,  to 
fill  the  vacancy.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  March  16th, 
1872.  Mr.  Terry  was  a  teacher  by  profession,  being  a  grad- 
uate of  the  famous  Albany  normal  school.  At  the  time  of 
his  appointment  he  was  principal  of  the  Spring  Green  acad- 
emy', which  was  discontinued  until  he  resigned  the  office  of 
superintendent.  Mr.  Terry  continued  nearly  all  of  the 
reforms  of  his  predecessor,  but  did  not  spend  as  much  time 
in  school  visitation,  for  in  the  twenty  months  of  his  incumb- 
ency he  had  not  yet  visited  all  the  schools  once.  He  con- 
sidered it  his  greatest  object  to  arouse  interest  in  school 
affairs  and  endeavored  to  do  this  by  lecturing  and  writing 
for  local  papers  of  the  county,  as  well  as  by  means  of  circu- 
lars to  the  school  boards  and  to  the  teachers.  He  had  the 
county  divided  into  five  lecture  circuits,  in  each  of  which  he 
delivered  lectures,  from  time  to  time,  on  educational  topics. 
He  also  made  it  his  especial  business  to  confer  with  school 
boards  and  patrons  on  school  matters  while  upon  his  lecture 
tours.     Institute  work  was  especially  prosperous  during  his 


606  SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

term,  since  he  was  an  able  conductor  himself  and  did  not 
depend  much  on  outside  assistance.  The  number  of  school 
districts  in  the  county  at  that  time  was  159,  the  number  of 
teachers  required  at  one  time  to  teach  the  schools  179,  but  the 
whole  number  of  different  teachers  required  to  teach  all  the 
schools  during  the  year  was  295.  The  average  wages  of  male 
teachers  was  |41. 39,  while  that  of  the  female  teachers  was  only 
$26.40.  The  number  of  persons  over  twenty  years  of  age 
attending  school  was  fifty-four.  The  length  of  the  institute 
terms  Avas  twenty  days,  and  the  attendance  averaged  sixty- 
five  members  per  institute.  Mr.  Terry  resigned  his  position 
in  the  autumn  of  1873,  as  he  found  most  of  his  salary 
absorbed  by  his  traveling  expenses ;  and  he  resumed  work 
as  a  teacher.  In  his  last  report  to  the  county  board  of 
supervisors,  he  urged  upon  them  the  need  and  wisdom  of 
paying  a  higher  salary  to  the  county  superintendent. 

December  3d,  1873,  James  T.  Lunn,  being  appointed  by 
the  state  superintendent,  took  the  oath  of  oftice.  Mr.  Lunn 
was  also  the  superintendent-elect  for  the  succeeding  term.  He 
was  well  qualified  for  the  position,  being  a  teacher  of  large 
experience  in  various  kinds  of  schools,  from  the  common 
school  up  to  a  high  school.  He  had  been  principal  of  schools 
at  Ironton  and  Richland  Center,  and  teacher  in  the  Baraboo 
schools.  His  opportunities  for  securing  an  education  in  our 
public  schools  had  been  very  limited,  but  he  had  already  ob- 
tained a  limited  state  certificate  when  he  assumed  his  posi- 
tion, and  soon  after  obtained  the  unlimited  state  certificate. 
He  therefore  was,  almost  wholly,  a  self-made  man.  Mr. 
Lunn's  administration  was  a  vigorous  one.  He  drew  the 
reins  tighter  than  they  had  ever  been  drawn  before.  His 
school  inspection  was  sharp  and  searching,  and  his  teachers* 
examinations  rigid  and  critical.  Again  complaints  went  up 
from  disappointed  teachers  who  had  failed  at  examination, 
but  the  people  had  learned  a  lesson  since  Mr.  Viebahn  's  ad- 
ministration, and  were  unwilling  now  to  condemn  a  super- 
intendent for  rendering  them  service  by  weeding  out  poor 
teachers.  As  a  result  Mr.  Lunn  grew  in  popularity  among 
the  people.  Early  in  his  administration  he  introduced  the 
plan  of  requiring  full  reports  from  the  teachers  of  their  re- 
spective schools,  to  be  made  to  the  superintendent  and  the  dis- 
trict clerk  of  their  district.  During  the  year  of  1877  to  '78 
teachers'  wages  averaged  as  follows:  Males — to  principals  of 
schools  of  over  two  departments,  $105.47;  to  principals  of 
schools   of  only  two   departments,  |47.75;    to  teachers    of 


SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  607 

schools  of  one  department,  $33.30.  Females — to  assistants 
in  graded  schools,  ^32.G6 ;  to  teachers  of  schools  of  one  de- 
partment, $24.68.  During  this  year  the  course  of  study  for 
country  schools  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  teachers  and  its 
adoption  urged  upon  school  boards.  Teachers  were  urgently 
requested  to  grade  their  schools  according  to  it.  Institute 
and  a.ssociation  work  was  raised  to  its  maximum,  both  as  to 
attendance  and  quality  of  work  done.  Mr.  Lunn's  presence 
at  any  of  these  gatherings  seemed  always  to  be  an  inspira- 
tion. During  this  year  1,238  volumes  are  reported  as  belong- 
ing to  the  school  libraries  of  the  county,  over  one-third  of 
which  belonged  to  Prairie  du  Sac.  Thirteen  towns  had  not 
even  a  single  volume.  In  his  report  of  1880,  Mr.  Lunn  has 
this  to  say  about  the  course  of  study:  "  The  course  of  study 
for  country  schools  has  been  persistently  pushed  for  trial. 
Interested  observers  have  long  lamented  that  few  terms'  work 
have  much  relevancy  to  what  preceded  or  follows  them  un- 
der different  teachers;  and  also  that  many  pupils,  especially 
boys,  spend  most  of  their  time  in  '  doing  sums.'  Instead  of 
taking  a  fairly  rounded  course  of  several  branches  of  study, 
reading  and  spelling  are  merely  glanced  at  a  few  minutes 
each  day,  while  grammar  and  history,  and  other  studies  are 
considered  useless,  or  too  flimsy  for  their  giant  intellects, 
which  require  the  stern  logic  of  mathematics,  of  which  it 
is  safe  to  say  they  know  little  more  at  twenty  than  at  ten 
years  of  age."  During  the  year  1881  Sauk  county  had  its 
flrst  graduates  from  the  country  schools  that  passed  the  ex- 
amination as  required  by  the  course  of  study.  They  were 
twelve  in  number.  Every  year  after  this  there  have  been 
pupils  to  graduate. 

During  the  same  years  was  also  established  a  "teachers' 
course  of  reading,"  which  provided  four  years'  work  with  a 
proper  selection  of  four  books  for  each  year.  The  reading 
of  teachers'  periodicals  was  also  pushed  to  quite  an  extent, 
so  that  during  one  teachers'  institute  alone,  Mr  Lunn  took 
subscriptions  for  such  papers  to  the  value  of  $71.  About 
this  time  a  school  register  and  classification  record,  according 
to  the  plans  of  the  Wisconsin  course  of  study,  was  prepared 
by  Mr.  Lunn.  It  certainly  did  a  great  deal  for  the  schools 
in  helping  to  establish  the  course  of  study  for  country 
schools.  Mr.  Lunn  served  Sauk  county  as  superintendent  of 
schools  for  eleven  years  and  one  month,  and  a  more  untiring 
superintendent  this  county  has  never  had. 

January  1st,  1885,   Elvin    C.   Wiswall   became  county 


608  SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

superintendent  of  schools.  Mr.  AViswall  was  well  quali- 
fied for  the  position;  an  excellent  scholar,  a  teacher  of 
considerable  experience,  and  a  graduate  of  the  state  univer- 
sity. He  had  taught  in  country  schools  of  the  county,  and 
had  been  principal  of  the  Sauk  City  and  the  Prairie  du  Sac 
high  schools,  and  held  an  unlimited  state  teacher's  certificate. 
Mr.  Wiswall  acted  wisely  in  making  provision  for  the 
continuance  of  all  worthy  plans  which  had  been  introduced 
by  his  predecessors,  especially  those  of  his  immediate  pre- 
decessor, J.  T.  Lunn.  In  1885  the  number  of  children  of 
school  age  was  9,484,  excluding  the  city  of  Baraboo ;  the  en- 
rollment in  the  schools  was  6,430,  and  the  average  attendance 
of  each  pupil  enrolled  was  74  days.  The  number  of  teachers 
required  to  fill  the  schools  at  one  time  was  186,  but  the 
whole  number  of  engagements  made  still  reached  the  num- 
ber of  263.  During  this  administration  many  new  school 
buildings  were  erected,  and  many  supplied  with  better  seat- 
ing and  apparatus.  In  1885  tlie  number  of  graduates  from 
the  common  schools  reached  twenty-five.  The  work  of  teach- 
ers' institutes  and  associations  was  well  managed,  so  that 
from  year  to  year  there  has  been  a  manifest  improvement  in 
the  quality  of  work  done  at  these  gatherings.  Mr.  Wiswall 
always  assisted  in  conducting  the  institutes  held  in  the 
county.  He  made  special  effort  to  derive  all  the  benefits 
that  could  be  obtained  from  the  "  teachers'  reading  circle 
movement,"  and  soon  swelled  the  number  of  those  prosecut- 
ing the  work  to  144,  which  was  the  largest  of  any  county  in 
the  state.  When  the  expense  involved  in  this  scheme  is  con- 
sidered, it  seems  surprising  that  it  attained  such  success. 
During  all  his  administration  considerable  effort  was  made 
to  keep  all  pupils  emploj'ed  during  school  hours.  It  re- 
quired considerable  time,  patience,  and  energy  to  train  and 
advise  teachers  about  methods  and  devices  in  providing 
*'  busy  work  "  for  the  little  ones,  but  in  time,  by  constant 
effort,  much  was  accomplished.  The  plan  of  reporting  to 
district  clerks  the  condition  of  the  school  as  found  by  the 
inspection,  was  tried  for  some  time,  but  the  heedlessness  of 
many  of  these  officials  made  this  information  of  little  effect. 
Arbor  day  received  appropriate  attention,  and  in  the  course  of  a 
few  3'ears  nearly  all  of  the  schools  began  to  observe  it  regularly. 
In  many  school  districts  much  has  been  accomplished  in 
beautifying  the  school  grounds.  There  are  to-day  thousands 
of  trees  and  shrubs  which  have  been  planted  since  the  first 
Arbor  day  was  observed  in  this  county.     In  1887  a  circular 


SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  609 

-was  issued  to  all  the  schools  of  the  county  calling  for  work 
in  writing  and  drawing,  which  was  to  be  exhibited  at  the 
National  educational  exposition  at  Chicago.  Most  of  the 
schools,  including  some  of  the  high  schools,  responded,  and 
considerable  material  for  an  exhibit  was  obtained.  The 
display  at  the  exposition  was  a  credit  to  the  county.  The 
same  exhibit  also  appeared  at  the  annual  county  fair  and 
at  the  session  of  the  Sauk  county  educational  association  at 
Reedsburg.  The  town  library  law  found  in  Mr.  Wiswail  a 
warm  supporter,  and  in  a  few  years  the  plan  was  adopted  by 
quite  a  number  of  the  towns. 

The  progress  of  the  schools  during  this  administration 
was  all  that  could  be  expected,  and  very  much  of  the  progress 
was  directly  due  to  the  wise  management  of  the  superin- 
tendent. Mr.  Wiswail  serv^ed  six  years,  and  during  this 
time  also  served  as  member  of  the  state  board  of  examiners 
for  state  teacliers'  certificates,  and  also  frequently  as  institute 
conductor  outside  of  the  county.  Since  retiring  from  this 
office  he  has  been  principal  of  the  Marinette  high  school, 
and  is  now  the  city  superintendent  and  principal  of  the  high 
school  at  Baraboo. 

W.  H.  Schulz  became  superintendent  of  schools  January 
1st,  1891.  Mr.  Schulz  is  a  self-made  man.  His  opportunities 
of  attending  school  were  limited  to  seventeen  months.  After 
being  licensed  to  teach  he  worked  himself  up  through  all  the 
grades  of  county  certificates,  and  then  to  an  unlimited  state 
teacher's  certificate.  He  came  to  the  office  with  twelve  years' 
successful  experience  in  country  and  graded  schools,  and  at 
the  time  of  his  election  he  was  principal  of  the  Argyle  high 
school. 

Mr.  Schulz's  endeavor  has  been  to  continue  in  operation, 
and,  where  possible,  to  develop  more  fully  the  plans  of  his 
predecessors,  especially  in  establishing  the  course  of  study 
more  fully,  and  making  institute  work  more  effective.  Dur- 
ing 1891  the  whole  number  of  school  districts  w^as  163  ;  num- 
ber of  teachers  required  to  fill  the  schools  at  one  time,  181 ; 
the  whole  number  of  teachers'  contracts  made  during  the 
year,  250 ;  the  whole  number  of  children  between  four  and 
twenty,  9,158 ;  average  wages  of  male  teachers,  $36.50 ; 
female  teachers,  $27.50 ;  105  districts  that  have  adopted  text 
books;  fifty-three  have  rules  of  school  government;  149 
Webster's  dictionaries ;  ninety-six  supplied  with  outline  maps ; 
ninety-eight  with  globes;  thirteen  towns  huve  the  library 
system.     The  amount  of  money  spent  for  school  purposes 


610  SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

was  $55,090.02  for  the  year.  Arbor  day  observation  has  now 
become  universal  for  the  schoolsof  the  county,  and  675  trees, 
mostly  evergreens,  were  planted  in  one  year,  besides  innumer- 
able shrubs  and  flowers.  One  pupil  from  each  school  is  re- 
quired to  report  the  doings  and  programme  of  the  Arbor  day 
exercises  to  the  supenntendent.  Two  examinations  for 
graduation  from  the  country  schools  are  now  held  during 
the  year,  and  on  an  average  about  seventy-five  pass  the 
examination  each  year.  Graduation  exercises  are  held  in 
each  school  that  has  graduates,  and  one  of  the  graduates  is 
required  to  report  the  exercises  to  the  superintendent.  A 
study  of  the  records  of  the  superintendent's  office  reveals  the 
following  facts :  1.  That  more  than  half  of  the  teachers 
that  have  graduates  in  any  year  have  had  graduates  in 
former  years.  2.  That  two-thirds  of  the  teachers  having 
graduates  hold  higher  grades  of  certificates,  and  most  of  the 
remainder  are  teachers  of  considerable  experience  ;  hence  it 
is  safe  to  conclude  that  higher  qualifications  and  experience 
make  the  eminently  successful  teachers.  The  work  of  the 
regular  teachers'  institutes  is  kept  up  to  its  former  standard 
of  excellency.  A  new  plan  for  local  teachers'  institutes  has 
been  introduced  to  take  the  place  of  the  former  teachers' 
meetings  or  associations.  The  plan  provides  for  four  such 
local  institutes  at  each  of  fifteen  different  places  in  the  county^ 
with  one  principal  conductor  and  six  assistant  conductors  at 
each  place.  The  scheme  has  been  exceedingly  successful, 
since  it  provides  work  for  nearly  all  the  teachers  of  the 
county  in  one  way  or  another,  and  it  has  been  a  success  in 
getting  nearly  all  interested  in  institute  work.  Summer  re- 
view schools  have  been  held  in  the  county  during  1890  and  '91, 
with  uniform  success.  The  one  held  at  Spring  Green  in  1891 
was  the  largest  ever  held  in  the  state  and  had  an  attendance 
of  130 ;  over  seventy  pursued  higher  branches.  W.  A.  Gundy 
and  W.  H.  Schulz  were  the  principals.  Now  over  one-third 
of  the  teachers  of  Sauk  county  hold  the  higher  grades  of 
certificates  and  the  number  aspiring  for  such  is  constantly 
increasing.  An  educational  exhibit  was  held  in  connection 
with  the  annual  county  fair  in  September,  1892,  at  which 
5,300  productions,  from  various  schools  of  the  county,  were 
exhibited.  On  the  whole  the  exliibit  reflected  much  credit 
on  the  teachers  and  pupils  of  the  schools  of  Sauk  county. 
Some  of  these  productions  will  be  on  exhibit  at  the  World's 
fair  at  Chicago  in  1893.  Mr.  Schulz  has  also  given  much 
attention  to  the  constant  and  profitable  employment  of  the 


SAUK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  611 

little  ones,  and  to  aid  his  teachers  has  written  a  little  volume 
on  "Systematic  husy  work  and  manual  training."  He  i& 
also  the  author  of  another  work  on  the  science  and  art  of 
teaching  United  States  history,  which  is  steadily  growing  in 
popularity.  Mr.  Schulz  has  been  re-elected  for  a  second  teria 
and  is  the  present  incumbent. 

INSTITUTIONS. 

A  brief  review  of  the  establishment  and  growth  of 
some  of  the  most  noted  schools  during  the  county  superin- 
tendents' period  will  bring  this  sketch  to  a  close. 

BAR  A  BOO. 

The  graded  schools  of  this  village  kept  steadily  grow- 
ing in  enrollment  and  in  departments.  In  1862  D,  N. 
Hitchcock  was  principal,  and  from  1865  to  1867  John 
Barker,  and  after  liim  James  T.  Lunn,  later  county  superin- 
tendent of  schools.  J,  M.  True  was  the  principal  during 
1869  and  taught  the'  last  year  as  principal  of  the  Baraboo 
graded  schools,  for  during  the  next  year  the  Baraboo  high 
school  was  organized  with  Isaac  A.  Sabin  as  principal,  who 
taught  for  two  years.  C.  A.  Hutchins,  now  assistant  state 
superintendent,  succeeded  Mr.  Sabin.  He  made  many 
needed  improvements  in  the  school.  T.  H.  Terry  took 
charge  of  the  school  in  1873.  In  1874  W.  A.  Willis  was 
elected  principal,  and  was  retained  for  ten  years,  and  until 
he  was  called  to  Iowa  City,  Iowa,  where  he  still  remains. 
Mr.  Cabeen,  his  assistant,  succeeded  him  for  one  year,  and 
w^as  followed  by  W.  J.  Brier,  now  professor  in  the  River  Falls 
normal  school.  Mr.  Brier  remained  at  the  head  of  the 
Baraboo  schools  for  three  years  and  left  to  take  his  present 
position  at  River  Falls.  In  1889  L.  H.  Clark,  now  also  a 
professor  in  the  River  Falls  normal,  was  elected  principal 
and  city  superintendent.  In  1891  Mr.  Clark  was  appointed 
high  school  inspector  of  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  and  E.  C.  Wis- 
wall,  the  present  incumbent,  succeeded  him.  Besides  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  this  city,  another  institution  deserves  attention. 
A  kindergarten  school  was  started  by  Grace  Crossman,  in 
1874,  who  conducted  it  for  one  year.  Miss  Crossman 
was  succeeded  by  Miss  Crandall,  wlio  continued  the  school; 
until  1891.  This  was  one  of  the  first  schools  of  this  kind  in 
the  state  and  for  a  long  time  was  one  of  the  most  successfuL 


•612  SAUK   COUNTY   SCHOOLS. 

REEDSBURG. 

During  this  period  A.  P.  Ellinwood,  Albert  Earthman, 
J.  H.  Gould,  J.  L.  Thomas,  Edwin  Marsh,  J.  Boyle  and  Allen 
B.  West  have  been  principals  of  the  high  school.  Mr.  West 
has  given  such  satisfaction  that  he  has  held  this  position  for 
ten  years  and  is  the  present  incumbent.  Mrs.  Perry  was  the 
first  city  superintendent.  Then  James  Stone  served  for  two 
years,  and  by  his  searching  inspection  made  many  improve- 
ments. Orie  E.  Ramsey  is  now  holding  this  office,  and  is 
making  her  service  valuable  by  the  interest  she  takes  in  the 
work.  During  the  year  1868  the  fine  school  building  erected 
in  1856  burned  down.  During  the  same  year  a  new  structure 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  ^5,500.  Albert  Earthman  was  the 
first  principal  to  take  charge  of  the  schools  in  the  new  build- 
ing. The  high  school  was  organized  in  1870.  The  school 
lias  a  library  of  350  volumes,  and  physical  and  chemical  ap- 
paratus valued  at  $100.  There  are  two  parochial  schools  in 
the  city:  The  Lutheran  school,  with  an  enrollment  of  115 
pupils,  and  the  St.  Peter's  school  (German),  with  an  enroll- 
ment of  30. 

SAUK   CITY. 

The  principals  of  the  Sauk  City  graded  schools  from  1867 
to  1877,  in  their  proper  order,  were,  C.  F.  Viebahn,  Herman 
Studer,  W.  F.  Bundy,  John  Nagle,  John  Molholland  and  W. 
F.  Bundy.  In  3877  the  Sauk  City  high  school  was  organ- 
ized and  Mr.  Bundy  was  elected  first  principal.  He  was  fol- 
lowed by  E.  C.  Wiswall,  C.  F.  Ninman,  B.  F.  Schubert  and 
J.  S.  Roeseler,  the  present  incumbent.  The  schools  of  Sauk 
City  have  always  been  noted  in  Sauk  county  and  even 
abroad  for  their  superior  management  and  instruction.  Hav- 
ing had  the  service  of  many  ot  the  best  teachers  of  the  state, 
this  is  not  at  all  surprising.  The  school  library  contains  575 
volumes  of  the  best  reference  books,  and  the  physical  and 
chemical  apparatus  is  valued  at  $400.  Sauk  City  has  a  new 
high  school  building,  which  was  erected  in  1891  at  a  cost  of 
about  $6,000.  It  is  one  of  the  most  convenient  structures  in 
the  county.  German  has  always  been  taught  in  this  school. 
This  sketch  would  not  be  complete  without  the  mention  of 
the  Honorable  C.  C.  Kuntz,  who  lives  at  this  place.  Although 
Mr.  Kuntz  never  taught  school  much,  he  has  been  one  of  the 
greatest  promoters  of  education  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin. 
Mr.  Kuntz  was  born  in  Germany,  and  is  a  graduate  of  a 
German  teachers'  seminary.     He  has  been  five  times  elected 


SAUK   COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  615- 

as  a  member  of  our  state  legislature,  generally  serving  as 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  education.  His  first  effort 
was  to  have  the  state  establish  county  normal  schools  for 
teachers;  failing  in  this  he  began  to  advocate  the  establish- 
ment of  high  schools,  and  finally  succeeded.  He  was  the 
author  of  numerous  bills  affecting  our  common  schools,  nor- 
mal schools  and  even  our  state  university. 

PRAIRIE   DU   SAC. 

James  O.  Buckley  was  one  of  the  most  noted  of  the 
principals  of  the  Prairie  du  Sac  graded  schools  and  had 
charge  of  them  for  three  years.  In  1887  a  high  school  was 
organized.  John  Jones  and  J.  F.  Bergen  have  been  the 
high  school  principals.  The  high  school  is  now  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Bergen.  The  library  numbers  about  250  volumes, 
and  the  physical  and  chemical  apparatus  is  valued  at  about 
$150.  Prairie  du  Sac  has  a  new  high  school  building,  which 
was  erected  in  1891  at  a  cost  of  $10,000.  This  is  one  of  the 
finest  buildings  of  the  kind  in  the  county. 

SPRING  GREEN. 

This  little  village  first  became  known  educationally 
through  the  reputation  of  Prof.  J.  H.  Terry's  academy,, 
which  was  conducted  by  him  during  a  part  ofthe  sixties  and 
seventies,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  period  of  twenty 
months  while  he  served  as  county  superintendent  of  schools 
of  Sauk  county.  In  this  academy  many  of  the  best  teachers 
of  this  county  received  their  education.  In  1877  a  new  high 
school  building  was  erected  and  a  high  school  organized. 
Mr.  De  La  Matyr  became  the  first  principal  of  the  high 
school  and  had  charge  of  it  for  six  years.  G.  W.  Reigle  fol- 
lowed him.  In  1886  J.  H.  Terry,  the  former  principal  of 
the  academy,  took  charge  ofthe  school  and  two  years  later 
W.  A.  Cundy.  During  Mr.  Cundy's  administration  the 
number  of  foreign  pupils  increased  to  about  forty.  Since 
then  J.  D.  Rouse  has  been  principal.  The  number  of 
graduates  in  1892  was  twentv,  which  is  the  largest  class  ever 
graduated  in  Sauk  county.  'During  1890,  1891  and  1892,. 
summer  review  schools  were  held  at  this  place,  the  one  of 
1891  being  the  largest  in  the  state. 

BLACK  HAWK 

and  its  vicinity  has  long  been  noted  for  the  high  qual- 
ity of  its  schools.  It  always  has  more  students  at  high 
schools,  normal  schools,  colleges  and  universities  than   any 


^14  SAUK   COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

other  place  of  the  county.  At  one  time  there  were  twelve 
students  at  the  university  of  Wisconsin  alone,  not  counting 
those  at  other  institutions  of  learning.  Here  also  resides 
Captain  W.  S.  McCready,  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  success- 
ful teachers  of  the  county.  He  has,  no  doubt,  had  more 
pupils  that  have  taken  courses  in  higher  institutions  of  learn- 
ing than  any  other  teacher  of  this  county. 

From  the  preceding  sketches  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
many  reforms  in  educational  affairs  Sauk  county  was  the 
pioneer,  and  now  stands  foremost  among  her  sister  counties, 
yet  the  margin  for  improvement  is  still  very,  very  broad. 
What  has  been  accomplished  is  largely  due  to  the  early  in- 
fluence of  the  academy  and  college-trained  young  men  and 
women  who  settled  in  this  county  at  an  early  date ;  the 
strong  educational  sentiment  of  its  large  foreign  population, 
mostly  German;  the  large  number  of  graded  and  high 
schools  of  the  county,  which  are  fifteen  in  number;  and  the 
able  superintendents  of  schools  during  the  past  twenty-two 
years,  during  which  time  all  had  the  qualifications  requisite 
for  a  principal  of  a  high  school,  and  last,  but  not  least,  to  tlie 
influence  of  such  men  as  C.  C.  Kuntz  and  W.  S.  McCready. 

W.  H.  SCHULZ. 


Polk  County  Schools., 


FIRST  SETTLEMENT. 


In  September,  1837,  just  after  the  treaty  was  made  with 
the  Ojibways  ceding  the  St.  Croix  valley  to  the  general  gov- 
ernment, Mr,  Franklin  Steele  and  Dr.  Fitch,  accompanied  by 
a  number  of  employees,  came  up  the  St.  Croix  river  to  the 
head  of  navigation  and  took  up  two  land  claims  on  the 
eastern  bank,  including  the  falls.  The  men  were  immedi- 
ately employed  in  the  erection  of  a  log  house  on  each  claim; 
and  when  the  work  was  completed  they  returned  to  Fort 
Snelling,  from  whence  they  came. 

In  the  spring  Messrs,  Steele  and  Fitch  went  to  St.  Louis, 
where  a  co-partnership  was  formed  by  Messrs.  Steele,  Fitch, 
Libbey,  Hungerford,  Livingston,  Hill  and  Holcombe,  and 
named  the  St.  Croix  Falls  lumber  company.  Calvin  A.  Tut- 
tle  was  chosen  millwright,  and  the  company  made  immedi- 
ate preparation  for  the  erection  of  a  dam  and  saw  mill  at  St. 
Croix  Falls.  The  "Palmyra,"  which  carried  the  company, 
crew,  provisions  and  necessary  material  for  the  erection  of 
the  mill,  was  the  first  steamer  that  navigated  the  St.  Croix 
river.  The  company  flourished,  and  in  a  short  time  men 
brought  their  families,  and  homes  were  established.  Soon 
after  this  settlement  was  formed,  farms  were  opened  in  the 
vicinity. 

SECOND   SETTLEMENT. 

In  1844  M.  N.  Nobles  and  L.  N.  S.  Parker  laid  claim  to 
the  present  site  of  the  village  of  Osceola.  A  mill  company 
was  formed  and  a  saw-mill  was  completed  in  1845.  It  was 
located  on  the  St.  Croix  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Osceola  creek. 
About  this  mill  a  settlement  was  formed  and  in  a  short  time 
other  occupations  attracted  the  attention  of  the  people.  The 
little  village  and  the  country  in  the  vicinity  were  called  Le 
Roy,  in  honor  of  Le  Roy  Hubble.  The  rich  prairie  lands  to 
the  south  and  east  invited  those  who  sought  permanent 
homes.  The  first  settler  on  the  southern  prairie  was  Har- 
mon Crandle,  in  1848,  and  the  second  was  William  Town. 
Many  of  those  who  came  in  1850,  or  a  little  later,  still  live 
there  and  are  now  well-to-do  farmers. 

615 


616  POLK   COUNTY   SCHOOLS. 

FIRST   SCHOOLS. 

The  first  school  taught  within  tlie  present  limits  of  the- 
county  was  in  St,  Croix  Falls,  by  Mrs.  Tainter,  of  Prairie  du 
Chien,  in  1848.  It  was  a  private  school  taught  in  a  room  of 
one  of  the  first  dwellings.  She  was  paid  by  voluntary  contri- 
butions and  "  boarded  around."  The  school  was  continued 
on  the  same  plan  by  '*  Doc  "  Jones  in  1849,  Ansel  Smith, 
1850;  Miss  H.  Thomson,  1851,  and  by  Miss  Amanda  McCarthy 
(Mrs.  Ayers),  in  1852. 

In  March,  1853,  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  that  portion 
of  St.  Croix  county  north  of  township  31  was  set  off  as 
a  new  county  and  named  Polk,  in  honor  of  Ex- President  James 
K.  Polk.  It  extended  to  Lake  Superior  on  the  north,  and  in- 
cluded the  present  Chippewa,  Sawyer  and  Ashland  counties 
on  the  east.  From  time  to  time  new  counties  have  been 
formed  from  this  territory  until  at  present  it  includes  that 
portion  on  the  western  boundary  of  Wisconsin  which  lies 
north  of  St.  Croix  county  west  of  range  14,  west  and  south 
of  township  38  north,  ranges  15,  16,  17,  and  township  37, 
ranges  18,  19  and  20.  It  contains  twenty-four  whole  and 
five  fractional  townships.  At  the  organization  there  were  but 
two  towns,  St.  Croix  Falls  including  the  northern  part 
and  Le  Roy  the  southern.  Town  superintendents  were 
chosen  to  take  supervision  of  the  educational  work,  but  noth- 
ing was  done  that  year.  The  county  seat  was  located  at  St. 
Croix  Falls,  but  at  the  first  election  it  was  removed  to  LeRoy. 

During  the  summer  of  1853  the  second  school  in  the 
county  was  taught  in  Le  Roy,  now  district  No.  1  of  Farm- 
ington,  by  Miss  Amanda  Scott.  She  had  received  her  edu- 
cation in  the  East,  and  had  had  considerable  experience  in 
teaching.  This  was  also  a  private  school  taught  in  a  small 
log  house  belonging  to  Mr.  Tea.  There  were  about  ten  chil- 
dren, and  little  ones  who  went  to  school  for  the  first  time 
were  taught  from  McGuffey's  spelling  book. 

THE   FIRST   PUBLIC   SCHOOLS. 

In  the  spring  of  1854  two  school  districts  were  organized 
in  the  town  of  Le  Roy,  and  one  in  the  town  of  St.  Croix 
Falls;  and  schools  were  taught  in  these  districts  during  the 
summer.  These  were  the  first  public  schools  taught  in  the 
county.  In  the  fall  a  third  school  district  was  formed,  east  of 
the  village,  in  Le  Roy,  where  a  school  was  taught  the  fol- 
lowing winter.  The  following  are  copies  of  the  first  two- 
annual  school  reports : 


POLK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  617 

To  THE  Clerk  of  the  Board  op  Supervisors  of  the  County 

OF  Polk. 

Annual  report  of  the  town  superintendent  of  schools  -of  the 
town  of  Falls  of  St.  Croix,  in  the  county  of  Polk,  for  the  year 
ending  on  the  31st  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1854. 

Dated  October  1st,  1854. 

There  has  been  one  district  set  off  within  said  town  called 
district  No.  1,  from  which  we  have  received  an  annual  report 
dated  Sept.  1st,  1854. 

The  number  of  months  school  has  been  taught  by  competent 

teachers 6 

Number  of  children  taught ...  40 

Number  of  children  residing  in  the  district  on  the  31st  day 

of  August  over  four  and  under  twenty  years  of  age 36 

Number  of  male  children  resident  on  August  31 23 

Number  of  female  children  resident  on  August  31 13 

The  school  has  been  taught  by  females. 

The  average  amount  of  wages  per  month S  18  00 

The  whole  amount  of  money  received  and  paid  to  teachers 

has  been  by  tax  and  voluntary  subscription 108  00 

There  has  as  yet  been  no  money  raised  for  school  house  or 
books  for  a  library. 

There  has  been  no  set  of  school  books  introduced  into  the 
school. 

As  to  the  other  items  set  forth  in  the  form  for  an  annual  re- 
port, I  have  nothing  to  report. 

L.  B.  Smith, 
Town  superintendent  of  schools  in  said  town  of  St.  Croix  Falls. 

2. 
To  THE  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  the  County  of 

Polk. 

Annual  report  of  the  town  superintendent  of  schools  of  the 
town  of  Le  Eov  in  the  countv  of  Polk,  for  the  year  ending  on  the 
31st  day  of  August,  A.  D.  18d4. 

Number  of  months  school  has  been  taught  in  each  of  said 
districts  by  a  qualified  teacher: 
In  school  district  number  1 3^ 

n        (I  a  "2  3 

Number  of  children  residing  in  each  district  on  the'  31st  day 
of  August  last,  over  the  age  of  four  and  under  the  age  of  twenty 
vears  : 

t)istriet  number  1 23 

"  "        2 25 

'*  ''        3 23 

71 


618  POLK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

Number  of  male  children  residing  in  all  of  said  districts 30 

"         female        ''  '•  "  "  ....  41 

Whole  number  of  children  residing  in  town  over  the  age  of 
four  and  under  the  age  of  twenty  years 71 

Number  of  children  taught  in  all  of  said  districts 43- 

The  whole  of  the  time  schools  have  been  taught  in  said  town 

has  been  by  qualified  female  teachers. 

Average  wages  per  month ^13  00 

No  money  has  been  received  by  me.  The  amount  raised  by 
tax  and  expended  in  said  district  from  which  reports  have  been 
received  by  me  is  as  follows  : 

For  teachers'  wages $126  OO 

"    stove 15  00 

"    contingent  expenses 25  '00 

There  are  no  school  houses  in  said  town  owned  by  the  school 
districts 

Dated  at  Le  Roy,  October  10th,  A.  D.  1854. 
Isaac  W.  Hale, 
Town  superintendent,  common  schools. 

The  first  school  in  the  present  village  of  Osceola  (then 
district  No.  2,  Le  Roy)  was  taught  by  W.  A.  Talboys  in  1854 
in  a  frame  building  erected  by  the  Kent  Brothers,  and  for 
several  years  loaned  to  the  district.  Mr.  Talboys  received  a 
common  school  education  in  England,  from  whence  he  came 
in  1852,  and  prior  to  his  teaching  was  employed  as  a  book- 
keeper for  the  Kent  Brothers,  then  the  principal  business 
men  of  the  place.  He  did  not  follow  teaching  as  a  business. 
Osceola  has  been  his  home  until  about  six  years  ago,  when 
he  engaged  in  business  with  his  son  in  St.  Paul. 

In  1858  the  first  school  building  in  the  county  was 
erected  in  Saint  Croix  Falls  at  a  cost  of  $1,000  and  a  new 
district  was  formed  north  of  the  village.  During  the  same 
year  Le  Roy  was  divided  into  three  towns.  The  fiorthern 
town  was  named  Osceola,  the  southwestern  Farmington,  and 
the  southeastern  Alden.  At  this  time  Osceola  had  three 
schools,  one  in  the  village,  another  east  of  the  village  and 
the  third  north  of  the  village.  Farmington  had  but  one 
school  district,  and  that  built  an  $800  school  house  that  year 
— the  second  school  building  in  the  county.  In  the  spring 
of  this  year  two  new  school  districts  were  organized  in  the 
town  of  Alden  and  schools  were  maintained  that  summer. 
The  school  in  district  No.  1,  known  as  the  "Horse  Creek "^ 
school,  was  taught  by  Miss  Pauline  Williams,  and  the  school 
in  district  No.  2,  known  as  the   ''Wagon    Landing"   school. 


POLK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  619 

was  taught  by  Mrs.  A.  B.  Peabody,  in  the  original  "  shanty  " 
built  on  Varnum  Kittel's  place  (I  think  this  is  the  first  build- 
ing in  the  town  of  Alden).  Mrs.  Peabody  is  a  lady  of  rare 
talents  and  has  even  since  been  an  influence  for  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  young  people  of  that  community.  She  still  lives 
in  district  No.  2,  and  has  ever  since  the  teaching  of  that 
school,  with  the  exception  of  three  years  during  which  her 
husband  served  as  pastor  of  Saint  Paul's  church  at  Plymouth^. 
Sheboygan  county.  Her  husband,  Rev.  A.  B.  Peabody,  was 
the  first  superintendent  in  the  town  of  Alden. 

Prominent  among  the  early  educators  in  the  village  of 
Osceola  was  Miss  E.  Rosell  Fisk,  who  received  special  train- 
ing for  teaching  in  Olean,  N.  Y.,  and  taught  four  terms  in 
succession  in  the  village  school,  beginning  May,  1857.  She 
established  the  first  school-  exhibition,  projected  the  first  ly- 
ceum  plan,  and  succeeded  in  interesting  the  people  in  school 
and  educational  work.  She  has  a  local  reputation  as  writer 
of  prose  and  verse. 

TOWN    SUPERINTENDENTS. 

While  the  schools  were  under  the  supervision  of  town 
superintendents  the  examination  of  teachers  received  but 
little  attention.  Tlie  teacher  would  first  secure  the  school, 
and  when  she  and  the  superintendent  found  it  convenient 
they  would  meet  (usually  at  the  superintendent's  house),  for 
examination.  If  the  teacher  was  examined  at  all  it  was 
orally,  and  the  questions  were  very  simple.  Very  often  the 
superintendent  would  dismiss  the  candidate  with,  "  Well,  I 
guess  you  know  more  about  these  things  than  I  do,"  and 
grant  the  certificate.  There  was  no  set  time  for  examina- 
tions, but  they  were  granted  upon  demand.  The  principal 
part  of  the  superintendent's  work  was  to  grant  certificates 
and  make  out  the  annual  report.  The  superintendents 
could  not  afford  to  spend  much  time  in  school  supervision,, 
had  they  possessed  the  ability  and  interest,  because  they 
were  very  poorly  paid  for  their  services. 

COUNTY    SUPERINTENDENTS. 

In  the  fall  of  1861  Hon.  Henry  D.  Barron  was  elected 
first  county  superintendent.  He  was  at  the  same  time  elected 
to  the  assembly  and,  as  he  was  then  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent men  in  the  St.  Croix  valley,  he  found  his  time  so  fully 
occupied  that  he  had  none  to  devote  to  the  interest  of  the 
schools,  hence  he  resigned  and  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Catlin,  of 
Osceola,  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 


620  POLK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

In  the  fall  of  1863  Robert  H.  Clark  was  elected  superin- 
tendent. He  was  a  man  of  strong  personality,  and  a  teacher 
by  profession.  He  had  the  interest  of  the  schools  at  heart, 
and  was  an  inspiration  to  both  teacher  and  pupils  when  he 
visited  the  schools.  He  served  six  years,  and  during  his 
superintendency  the  real  work  of  school  supervision  was  es- 
tablished. He  organized  the  first  teachers'  association,  and 
the  first  thorough  and  written  examination'  of  teachers  was 
then  instituted. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  county  were  Americans,  or  peo- 
ple from  the  Eastern  states  thoroughly  Americanized,  and  it 
was  not  until  Superintendent  Clark's  last  term  of  office  that 
the  foreigners  commenced  making  settlements.  To  them 
much  credit  is  due  for  the  rapidity  with  which  the  heavily 
timbered  and  rough  portions  of  the  county  have  been  opened 
into  beautiful  farms.  There  are  at  present  large  settlements 
of  Scandinavians,  Irish,  Germans  and  French.  The  Scandi- 
navian population  is  at  present  the  largest  in  the  county. 

In  1869  Charles  E.  Mears  was  elected  county  superin- 
tendent and  held  the  office  six  years.  He  had  been  one  of 
the  leading  teachers  in  the  county  before  his  election,  and 
was  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  work  of  his  predecessor 
and  the  needs  of  the  schools.  During  his  administration  the 
teachers'  associations  met  annually  in  three  days'  sessions  in 
the  spring.  They  had  a  constitution,  and  admission  and 
membership  fees  were  paid.  The  proceeds  of  these  were  used 
in  the  purchase  of  library  books.  The  library  increased  to 
about  fifty  volumes.  Mr.  Mears  was  thorough  in  his  work 
and  the  schools  prospered  under  his  supervision. 

In  the  fall  of  1875  J.  W.  Dean,  of  Black  Brook,  was 
elected  to  the  superintendency  and  served  one  term.  He 
was  also  a  prominent  teacher  and  interested  in  educational 
work.  He  followed  the  work  of  his  predecessors.  His  suc- 
cessor was  Mr.  Tozer  of  Little  Falls,  town  of  Alden.  He  had 
received  his  education  in  the  East,  and  had  taught  in  Maine, 
and  for  several  years  in  Folk  county.  He  was  considered 
an  excellent  teacher  and  was  liked  as  county  superintendent. 

Mr.  H.  B.  Dike,  of  Osceola,  was  superintendent  two 
terms,  from  1880  to  1885,  inclusive.  He  was  a  teacher  and 
lawyer  by  profession.  He  is  at  present  a  prominent  lawyer 
in  Osceola,  and  our  present  assemblyman.  At  the  close  of 
his  second  term  Mr.  Tozer  was  re-elected  and  served  one  term. 

In  1886  Mr.  L.  B.  Dresser,  of  St.  Croix  Falls,  was  elected 
:ind  served  two  terms.     He  is  a  graduate  of  Valparaiso  and 


POLK  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 


621 


was  principal  of  the  school  at  St.  Croix  Falls  before  his  elec- 
tion. He  is  at  present  one  of  the  leading  merchants  in  St. 
Croix  Falls. 

GROWTH  OF  THE  SCHOOLS. 

The  following  table  shows  the  growth  of  the  schools: 


YEAR. 

No.  of 
Towns 

No.  of 
Districts. 

No.  of 
school 
houses. 

Children 

of  school 

age. 

Ave.  wages 
of  male 
teachers 

Ave.  wages 

of  female 

teachers 

1860 

1866 

1870 

1875 

1880 

1885 

1891 

1892 

4 

6 

10 

13 

19 

19 

\  23  &   f 

/3vlg8t 

12 
21 
31 
54 
71 
M 
98 
98 

9 
16 
31 
50 
71 
84 
99 
100 

348 
630 
1,191 
2,.381 
3,523 
4,418 
5,175 
5,^46 

$234  00 
414  DO 
394  00 
:^*i  00 
344  00 
394  00 
394  00 
414  00 

$1(>4  00 
234  00 
304  00 
324  00 
28100 
304  00 
304  00 
324  00 

Our  first  school  houses  were  nearly  all  small  log  build- 
ings. These  have  gradually  been  replaced  by  good,comfortable 
frame  buildings,  and  the  long,  home-made  benches  by  the 
comfortable  patent  school  desks.  Our  school  houses  are 
nearly  all  sufficiently  comfortable  to  enable  teachers  to  do 
good  work. 

teachers'  ASSOCIATION. 

Since  1875  the  teachers'  association  had  several  times 
almost  died,  and  then  revived  again  for  a  short  time.  The 
library  had  been  reduced  to  sixteen  volumes,  and  they  were 
not  in  circulation.  In  January,  1891,  a  meeting  of  the 
teachers  was  called  by  the  county  superintendent,  and  a  new 
association  was  organized,  to  consist  of  all  the  teachers  in  the 
county,  and  to  be  free  to  all  without  fees  or  dues.  This  asso- 
ciation had  its  regular  meetings  about  once  a  month  for  the 
discussion  and  consideration  of  practical  school  questions. 
Owing  to  the  size  of  the  county  and  the  few  railroad  accom- 
modations, the  teachers  found  it  very  difficult  to  attend  the 
meetings,  hence  at  our  first  meeting,  in  1892,  the  association 
divided  itself  into  five  local  associations,  which  were  to  work 
under  the  supervision  of  the  county  superintendent,  and  re- 
port at  the  close  of  each  meeting  to  said  officer.  The  work 
of  the  Wisconsin  reading  circle  was  taken  up  in  connection 
with  the  regular  association  work.  Eight  meetings  for  the 
year  were  planned  immediately,  and  the  programmes  for  all 
the  meetings  were  issued  the  next  week.  The  associations 
now  meet  at  five  different  places  on  the  same  days,  and  all 
use  the  same  programmes. 


622  POLK   COUNTY   SCHOOLS. 

ARBOR   DAY   AND    SCHOOL   LIBRARIES. 

The  histor}''  of  the  observance  of  Arbor  day  practically 
begins  with  the  spring  of  1891,  though  it  had  been  observed 
by  individual  schools  prior  to  this.  Tlie  observance  was  not 
general,  however,  until  the  spring  of  1892.  The  Arbor  day 
prize  offered  by  the  governor,  in  1891,  was  sought  by  many, 
but  received  by  district  No,  4,  Eureka.  The  teacher,  Mr. 
John  E.  Hale,  deserves  much  credit  for  the  will  with  which 
he  worked  and  the  influence  he  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
children  and  the  people  of  the  district.  His  work  in  this 
■case  is  only  an  exemplification  of  all  his  work  as  a  teacher. 

The  history  of  our  first  school  library  dates  back  to 
1861.  It  was  in  the  town  of  Sterling  and  valued  at  $1.50. 
The  growth  of  school  libraries  has  been  very  slow.  In  the 
past  we  have  had  several  district  libraries,  but  the  books 
were  not  always  selected  with  care,  and  have  never  been  used 
advantageously. 

The  growth  of  the  town  library  has  been  more  rapid 
during  the  past  two  years  than  ever  before.  There  are  at 
present  twenty-three  towns  and  three  incorporated  villages 
in  the  county,  and  fourteen  of  these  towns  and  all  the  vil- 
lages have  libraries  at  present.  This  growth,  as  well  as  the 
Arbor  day  movement,  is  the  result  of  the  work  done  by  our 
state  superintendent,  Hon.  0.  E.  Wells. 

SCHOOL   GOVERNMENT. 

Polk  county  has  tried  the  township  system  of  school 
government  and  made  a  failure  of  it,  hence  all  our  schools 
are  at  present  under  the  district  system.  Our  officers  are 
often  negligent  in  regard  to  their  school  duties,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  they  are  human,  and  do  not  enjoy  working  without 
compensation. 

During  the  past  two  years  special  attention  has  been 
given  to  improved  methods  of  teaching;  plan  and  prepara- 
tion of  work  by  the  teachers ;  records  of  work  done,  and 
education  for  the  work. 

SUMMER   SCHOOLS. 

The  first  summer  school  for  teachers  was  held  at  St- 
Croix  Falls  in  the  summer  of  1891  and  the  second  in  1892- 
The  first  was  conducted  by  Messrs.  H.  M.  Coldren,  F.  S- 
Hyer  and  George  W.  Walker,  and  the  second  by  Messrs. 
Coldren,  Hyer  and  F.  B.  Webster.  The  work  was  planned 
with  the  superintendent,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  make 
it  as  practical  as  possible. 


POLK   COUNTY   SCHOOLS,  623 

INSTITUTES. 

State  normal  institutes  have  been  lield  regularly  and 
have  been  a  source  of  much  good.  They  have  been  the 
means  of  keeping  the  teachers  in  contact  with  the  work  out- 
side of  the  county,  and  sources  of  inspiiation  to  those  who 
have  a  desire  to  make  advancement.  The  institute  is  the 
strongest  link  in  the  chain  which  unites  the  county  schools 
of  the  state.     May  it  long  live  and  do  good! 

The  present  county  superintendent  of  Polk  county  is 
Miss  Carrie  Asp,  the  writer  of  this  article,  who  will  be  super- 
seded by  Mr.  H.  M.  Coldren,  of  St.  Croix  Falls,  in  January, 
1893.  Mr.  Coldren  is  a  college  graduate  and  has  been  prin- 
cipal of  the  schools  at  St.  Croix  Falls  about  four  years.  He 
is  well  qualified  for  the  work,  and  we  hope  the  educational 
interests  of  the  county  will  prosper. 

Carrie  Asp. 


St.  Croix  County  Schools. 


St.  Croix  county  is  unfortunate  in  having  on  file  no 
records  of  its  schools  previous  to  the  year  1874.  Such  facts 
as  are  given  in  the  following  sketch  of  the  early  history  of 
its  schools  have  been  gathered  under  many  difficulties. 

The  first  settlement  in  the  county  was  made  at  Hudson, 
and  here  the  first  school  was  maintained.  This  place  w^as 
early  incorporated  as  a  city,  with  a  school  system  separate 
from  the  rest  of  the  county,  and  no  further  mention  will  be 
made  of  it  in  this  history  of  the  county  schools. 

Originally  the  county  embraced  a  large  extent  of  terri- 
tory, but  the  legislature  of  1853  gave  it  its  present  bounda- 
ries, extending  from  Polk  county  on  the  north  to  Pierce  ou 
the  south,  a  distance  of  24  miles,  and  from  'the  St.  Croix 
river  on  the  west  to  Dunn  county  on  the  east,  a  distance  of 
30  miles.  At  this  time  there  were  organized  within  its  boun- 
daries but  three  towns,  and  these  in  the  southwestern  part. 
The  early  settlers  were  mostly  from  the  Eastern  states  and 
valued  schools,  so  we  find  schools  established  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible in  the  different  settlements.  As  early  as  the  summer  of 
1852  a  school  was  kept  in  a  private  house  in  the  town  of 
Kinnickinnic  by  a  Mrs.  Lynch.  Again,  in  1853,  Miss  Van 
Meter,  now  Mrs.  Dyer,  of  Hudson,  kept  the  school,  receiving 
for  her  services  $8  a  month  and  her  board.  In  the  fall  of 
that  year  a  school  house  was  built  in  the  district,  and  school 
regularly  kept  from  that  time  on.  In  1855  another  district 
was  organized  in  the  town,  a  school  house  built,  and  school 
regularly  maintained. 

From  1853  the  county  was  rapidly  settled,  new  towns 
organized  and  school  districts  formed.  In  1860  there  were 
sixteen  towns,  and  about  forty  school  districts.  The  first  sciiool 
in  the  village  of  New  Richmond  was  kept  in  a  store  in  1856. 
A  school  house  was  built  in  1858,  and  a  second,  and  much 
better  building,  in  1863. 

The  schools  at  this  time  were  under  the  direction  of 
town  superintendents,  as  were  the  schools  throughout  the 
state.     In   1861   a   change  was   made   in   the   system,  and 

624 


ST.  CROIX  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  625 

county  superintendents  were  placed  in  charge  of  the  scliools, 
and  the  first  superintendent  for  the  whole  of  St.  Croix 
county  w^as  elected  in  the  fall  of  that  year. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  superintendents :  Dr.  J.  N. 
Van  Slyke,  Hudson,  1862-63 ;  Prof.  A.  H.  Weld,  Troy,  1864- 
69 ;  E.  S.  Reed,  1870-71 ;  J.  R.  Hinckley,  Hudson,  1872-73  ;  F. 
P.  Chapman,  New  Richmond,  1874-77  ;  Miss  Betsy  M.  Clapp^ 
New  Richmond,  1878-81 ;  Mrs.  E.  I.  Dwelly,  Hudson,  1882- 
84;  Miss  Betsy  M.  Clapp,  New  Richmond,  1885-88;  Miss 
Lovila  M.  Mosher,  New  Richmond,  1889-92;  Frank  W. 
Bixby,  Hammond,  1893. 

In  1861,  when  the  first  superintendent  was  elected, 
there  were  in  the  county  44  school  districts,  and  1,043  pupils 
of  school  age,  1,519  of  whom  are  reported  as  having  attended 
school  during  the  year.  The  salary  of  the  first  superintend- 
ent was  fixed  by  the  county  board  at  ^400  a  year.  They 
afterwards  voted,  however,  to  pay  him  $100  additional  sal- 
ary for  extra  services  rendered.  The  wages  paid  to  the 
teachers  at  that  time  were  very  low,  many  of  them  receiving 
only  $8  and  $10  a  month  and  boarding  around. 

Among  the  early  superintendents  Prof.  A.  H.  Weld 
left  a  lasting  impression  upon  the  schools  of  the  county, 
and  did  much  to  lay  the  foundation  which  has  given  to  St. 
Croix  county  its  excellent  schools.  Prof,  Weld  had  recently 
come  from  the  East,  where  he  had  been  engaged  in  educa- 
tional work.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  college,  and  had 
taught  in  several  schools  and  colleges  East.  He  was  quite 
widely  known  as  the  author  of  several  Latin  books,  and  also 
of  Weld's  "  English  Grammar,"  which  many  of  the  settlers 
of  the  county  had  used  when  attending  school  in  the  East- 
ern states.  Prof.  Weld  was  eminently  fitted  to  take  the 
schools  of  the  county  in  charge,  and  organize  and  improve 
them,  as  was  needed  just  at  that  time.  He  required  a  higher 
standard  of  scholarship  on  the  part  of  teachers  in  order  to 
secure  a  certificate.  Teachers'  meetings  and  institutes  were 
held,  A  six  weeks'  school  for  teachers  was  held  in  River 
Falls,  which  gave  the  teachers  the  opportunity  needed  to 
improve  their  scholarship.  School  visitation  was  also  made 
an  important  help  to  the  teachers,  each  school  receiving  at 
least  two  visits  each  year  from  the  superintendent.  All  this 
work,  continued  faithfully  for  six  years,  counted  for  much 
in  the  welfare  of  the  schools  of  the  county.  In  1870  the 
school  districts  had  increased  to  fifty-three  and  the  children 
of  school  age  to  4,101 — 3,749  of  whom  attended  school. 


626  ST.  CROIX  COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

St.  Croix  county  was  among  the  first  counties  of  the 
state  to  elect  a  woman  for  superintendent,  the  first  one  being 
elected  in  the  fall  of  1877,  and  the  office  has  continued  in 
the  hands  of  women  for  fifteen  years.  Very  efficient  work 
has  been  done  by  the  three  ladies  who  have  held  the  office, 
each  one  giving  her  whole  time  and  attention  to  the  work 
entrusted  to  her.  Miss  Clapp,  of  New  Richmond,  served  for 
four  terms,  and  under  her  wise  management  the  schools 
steadily  improved.  Institutes  were  held  each  year,  and 
some  of  the  foremost  educators  of  the  state  aided  her  in  these 
meetings.  The  teaching  force  in  the  county  grew  more 
efficient  each  year,  and  those  engaged  in  the  work  were  in- 
spired by  her  faithfulness  and  example  to  do  the  very  best 
work  possible.  Miss  Clapp  left  an  influence  in  the  schools  of 
the  county  that  will  loner  continue  to  be  felt. 

In  1880  the  number  of  schools  had  increased  to  99,  and 
the  pupils  of  school  age  numbered  5,721.  The  total  amount 
■expended  that  year  for  school  purposes  was  $34,999.  The 
present  year  of  1892  finds  in  the  county  114  school  districts, 
requiring  139  teachers  when  all  the  schools  are  in  session. 
The  number  of  children  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty 
years  is  7,755,  and  of  this  number  5,341  have  attended  school 
during  the  year.  The  total  amount  paid  out  for  school  pur- 
poses is  $65,053,  of  which  $38,771  was  expended  for  teacliers' 
wages.  The  average  salary  paid  to  male  teachers  for  the 
year  is  $46.60  a  month,  and  to  female  teachers  $33.32  a 
month. 

The  school  houses  of  the  county  are  in  very  good  condi- 
tion, as  a  rule;  only  eight  out  of  the  114  buildings  are  in 
poor  condition.  The  majority  of  the  districts  are  well  sup- 
plied with  maps,  globes  and  other  apparatus  so  useful  in 
teaching.  The  teachers  of  the  county  are  progressive,  and 
avail  themselves  of  every  opportunity  afforded  for  self-im- 
provement. Teachers'  meetings  and  institutes  are  always 
well  attended.  The  standard  of  scholarship  required  to  ob- 
tain certificates  is  as  high  as  that  required  in  almost  any 
county  in  the  state.  The  teachers  show  a  desire  to  obtain  as 
good  certificates  as  possible,  and  many  of  them  attend  sum- 
mer schools  that  they  may  obtain  a  higher  grade  certificate. 

The  majority  of  the  country  schools  are  following  the 
manual  of  course  of  study  for  common  schools,  and  about 
thirty  diplomas  were  granted  the  past  year.  Much  good  has 
come  from  this,  as  a  large  number  of  those  who  thus  finish 
tlie  course  in  the  country  school   immediately   attend  some 


ST.  CROIX  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  627 

:good  graded  or  high  school  of  the  county,  while  a  large 
number  from  this  county  are  fitting  themselves  for  teachers 
at  the  River  Falls  normal  school. 

The  county  has  but  one  free  high  school  outside  the 
city  of  Hudson,  and  this  is  at  New  Richmond.  About 
seventy  pupils  are  enrolled  and  the  school  is  in  charge  of  a 
principal  and  one  assistant.  In  the  lower  grades  six  teachers 
are  employed.  The  school  has  an  excellent  reputation  for 
the  work  done  in  it.  The  school  house  is  a  substantial 
brick  building. 

The  Glenwood  graded  school  employs  a  force  of  eight 
teachers.  It  will  undoubtedly  become  a  free  high  school,  as 
will  that  of  Baldwin,  during  the  present  year.  The  latter 
school  employs  four  teachers.  Wilson  employs  three  teach- 
ers, Hammond  three,  Wildwood  two,  Houlton  two,  and 
Deer  Park  two.  The  work  done  in  all  these  schools  is  of  a 
good  character.  The  course  of  study  for  common  schools  is 
made  the  basis  of  the  courses  pursued  in  these  graded 
schools.  There  are  in  the  county  three  parochial  schools, 
one  in  Hudson,  one  in  Somerset  and  one  in  New  Richmond, 
all  in  charge  of  Sisters  of  the  Catholic  church. 

The  school  officers  and  patrons  of  the  school  throughout 
the  county  manifest  a  real  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the 
schools  and  are  willing  as  a  rule  to  pay  fair  wages  to  good 
teachers,  and  to  keep  the  school  buildings  in  good  repair. 
Arbor  day  is  observed  by  most  of  the  districts  each  year, 
and  the  school  premises  in  many  places  are  much  improved 
by  its  observance. 

There  is  room  for  great  improvement  in  many  ways  in 
the  schools  of  the  county,  yet  one  who  watches  them  from 
year  to  year  cannot  fail  to  see  a  steady  growth,  that  indicates 
a  continued  improvement,  and  shows  that  the  county  will 
continue  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times  in  educational   affairs. 

LOVILA   M.  MOSHER. 


Buffalo  County  Schools. 


The  most  of  the  early  settlers  of  Buffalo  county  were  im- 
migrants who  had  received  the  benefit  of  an  elementary 
education,  and  were  determined  to  provide  means  for  the 
education  of  their  children.  For  this  reason,  as  well  as  for 
the  constitutional  provision  relating  to  public  schools,  the 
educational  history  of  Buffalo  county  covers  a  period  which 
coincides  very  nearly  with  that  of  its  settlement.  ISIo  sooner 
had  the  early  settlers  provided  for  the  most  pressing  wants^ 
such  as  shelter,  food,  etc.,  than  the  question  of  organizing 
school  districts  was  agitated,  which  invariably  resulted  in 
their  establishment.  School  districts  being  organized,  the 
next,  and  undoubtedly  more  difficult,  task  was  that  of  erect- 
ing school  houses.  Those  who  remember  the  pioneer  log 
school  house,  especially  those  who  received  their  own  train- 
ing in  it,  will  readily  testify  to  the  fact  that  it  was  a  model 
of  neither  architecture  or  convenience.  However,  when 
we  consider  the  difficulties  then  encountered  in  the  way  of 
providing  skilled  mechanics  and  the  necessary  material  for 
building,  we  must  accord  credit  to  the  projectors,  even  though 
the  structures  erected  were  wanting  in  all  the  essentials  of 
good  school  houses.  As  time  passed  on,  these  temporary 
structures  were  replaced  by  comfortable  frame  or  brick  build- 
ings, so  that  at  the  present  time  we  find  them  as  a  rare  ex- 
ception only. 

Our  educational  history  begins  with  the  year  1856, 
when  we  find  three  organized  school  districts  within  the 
present  limits  of  Buffalo  county,  all  of  which  maintained 
schools  for  a  few  months  during  the  year.  Two  of  these 
districts  were  in  the  town  of  Belvedere,  while  the  third  one 
was  made  up  of  territory  then  belonging  to  the  town  of 
Buffalo. 

The  county  being  first  settled  in  the  southern  part,  I 
need  not  mention  that  the  first  districts  organized  were 
located  in  that  section.  As  the  population  increased  graded 
schools  were  established  at  Fountain  City,  Alma,  Mondovi,. 
Cross  and  Cochrane.  Those  at  Alma  and  Mondovi  have 
subsequently  been  changed  into  free  high  schools. 


628 


BUFFALO   COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  629 

To  show  the  rapid  development  of  the  educational  facil- 
ities, and  the  increase  in  the  sciiool  population,  I  submit 
the  following  table  from  Mr.  L.  Kessinger's  history  of  Buffalo 
county.  The  figures  are  based  upon  the  official  reports  for 
the  year  indicated : 
Year.  No.  of  Districts.  School  Population. 

1866 3 190 

1866 52 2,445 

1876 74 5,865 

1886 82 6,851 

1892 84 6,128 

From  the  above  it  will  be  observed  that  the  per  cent,  of 
increase  in  the  school  population,  as  well  as  in  the  number  of 
■districts,  was  greatest  during  the  first  decade.  Whether  there 
was  a  constant  increase  in  the  school  population  until  it 
reached  the  highest  number  in  1886,  or  whether  there  was  a 
period  previous  when  it  decreased  for  a  few  years,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  state.  Since  1886,  however,  there  has  been  a 
constant  though  slight  decrease  in  the  number  of  pupils  of 
school  age. 

Of  the  free  high  schools  in  the  county,  the  one  located 
at  Alma  was  organized  as  a  common  district  school  in  1857, 
a  lew  years  later  changed  into  a  graded  school,  and  in  1887 
into  a  free  high  school.  The  high  school  at  Mondovi  was 
organized  as  a  district  school  in  1858,  subsequently  changed 
into  a  graded  school,  and  in  1889  into  a  free  high  school. 
The  first-named  now  consists  of  seven  and  the  latter  of  four 
departments. 

The  buildings  in  which  these'  schools  are  maintained 
are  substantial  and  commodious  structures;  having  been 
erected  within  the  past  five  or  six  years,  they  are  provided  with 
approved  modern  conveniences,  such  as  furnaces,  ventilating 
apparatus,  and  dry  air  closets,  so  that  they  may  properly  be 
ranked  among  the  best  equipped  school  buildings  in  the 
state. 

Besides  the  free  high  schools, there  are  three  graded  schools 
of  which  mention  may  be  made  in  distinction  from  the  com- 
mon district  schools.  The  one  located  at  Fountain  City  is, 
I  think,  one  of  the  three  schools  organized  in  1856;  conse- 
quently the  first  graded  school  in  the  county.  It  consists  at 
present  of  five  departments,  with  a  total  enrollment  of  about 
225  pupils.  The  graded  school  in  the  town  of  Cross  con- 
sists of  two  departments,  with  a  total  enrollment  of  about 
75  pupils.     This  was  a  common   district  school  up  to  four 


630  BUFFALO   COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

years  ago,  when  it  was  decided  to  add  another  room  and 
change  it  to  a  graded  school.  The  graded  school  at  Cochrane,, 
consisting  of  two  departments,  is  of  quite  recent  date,  this 
being  the  first  year  that  a  graded  school  is  maintained  in. 
that  district. 

The  first  teachers'  institute  was  held  at  Fountain  City  in. 
the  fall  of  1871.  Since  then  there  has  been  at  least  one  an- 
nual institute  held  in  the  county.  The  first  summer  school 
was  organized  in  1889  by  Principal  A.  M.  Locker,  of  Mon- 
dovi.  Ever  since  a  summer  school  has  been  maintained  at 
Mondovi,  excepting  one  year,  when  it  was  held  at  Alma. 
Teachers'  meetings  were  held  at  various  local  points  dur- 
ing the  past  five  or  six  years.  That  these  meetings  and 
institutes  have  been  the  means  of  elevating  the  standard  of 
scholarship,  and  of  creating  a  professional  spirit  among  the 
teachers,  there  is  no  reason  for  doubt. 

Efforts  at  introducing  a  course  of  study  in  the  common 
district  schools  were  made  as  early  1878,  with  variable  re- 
sults. Fifty-three  of  the  seventy-nine  district  schools  are 
now  reported  as  being  organized  in  accordance  with  the  man- 
ual of  the  course  of  study.  Thirty-three  diplomas  were 
granted  to  graduates  of  the  common  district  during  the  past 
year.  The  total  number  of  diplomas  granted  to  common- 
schoool  graduates  since  1889,  the  time  when  the  plan  of 
grading  the  country  schools  was  revived,  is  112. 

Until  1887  but  three  schools  in  the  county  possessed  a 
sufficient  number  of  books  as  to  deserve  the  characteriza- 
tion of  libraries.  The  total  number  of  volumes  now  in  the 
district  libraries  is  899,  which  are  distributed  as  follows: 
Alma  high  school,  387  ;  Mondovi  high  school,  133  ;  Fountain 
City  graded  school,  250 ;  leaving  119  volumes  to  be  divided 
among  three  common  district  schools.  The  total  number  of 
volumes  purchased  under  the  town  library  law  since  1887  is 
850.  Eleven  of  the  seventeen  towns  in  the  county  have  at 
one  time  or  another  purchased  books  in  compliance  with  this- 
law. 

Ninety-nine  teachers  are  required  to  teach  the  several 
schools  in  the  county.  Of  the  6,128  children  of  school  age 
4,057  were  enrolled  in  the  public  schools  during  the  year, 
the  average  attendance  of  each  pupil  being  eighty-seven  days. 
A  majority  of  the  school-rooms  are  well  furnished  and  pro- 
vided with  necessary  apparatus.  The  often-criticised  board 
benches,  whose  only  known  good  quality  was  durability,, 
have  yielded  their  title  as  an  article  of  furniture,  to  the  great: 
satisfaction  of  pupils  and  teachers. 


BUFFALO   COUNTY   SCHOOLS.  631 

The  total  amount  of  money  paid  for  teachers'  wages  dur- 
ing the  past  year  was  $23,536.  The  average  wages  paid  to 
male  teachers  per  month  was  |41,  while  the  average  wages 
paid  to  female  teachers  per  month  was  $28.90.  The  total 
amount  of  money  paid  out  in  the  county  for  school  purposes 
during  the  past  school  year  was  $41,010.18. 

George  Schmidt. 


Barron  County  Schools. 


Barron  county  is  one  of  the  new  or  later  settled  counties 
of  the  state,  and  its  early  history  is  not  rich  educationally. 
Schools  became  noticeable  about  1870,  at  which  time  there 
were  four  within  the  present  limits  of  the  county.  They 
were  under  the  township  system,  the  whole  territory  included 
in  one  town.  About  this  time  the  educational  interests 
of  the  county  seem  to  have  taken  new  life,  for  in  1879  we 
find  the  county  with  sixty-two  schools,  each  containing  but 
one  department  and  scattered  among  ten  towns,  which  had 
generally  adopted  the  township  system. 

There  seem  to  be  stages  in  the  settlement  of  a  new, 
especially  a  timbered,  region,  when  this  system  is  favorably 
and  unfavorably  received.  Upon  the  first  advent  of  the 
permanent  settler,  who  is  usually  poor,  the  broad  expanse  of 
the  lumber  king  and  speculator  is  grasped  and  utilized  for 
school  purposes,  and  the  township  system  is  at  once  called  to 
aid  in  this.  As  the  county  advances,  rival  settlements  in 
the  towns  become  jealous  of  each  other ;  and  some  of  the 
older  districts  are  quite  ready  to  adopt  the  single  district  sys- 
tem, under  which  their  thickly  settled  and  wealthier  portion 
more  than  pays  its  own  share  of  the  school  tax.  The  district 
system  is  generally  well  received  and  popular  until  the 
country  is  well  opened  and  a  uniformity  of  property  througli- 
outestablished,when  the  township  system  is  again  resorted  to. 

The  first  teachers'  institute,  of  which  I  can  find  any 
account,  was  held  at  Rice  Lake,  in  1873,  A.  B.  Finley  being 
at  that  time  county  superintendent. 

There  are  now  one  hundred  and  eight  school  districts  in 
the  county — one,  Rice  Lake,  being  independent  and  contain- 
ing ten  departments,  the  upper  one  being  a  state  high  school. 
In  addition  to  the  above  there  are  three  free  high  schools 
in  the  county,  namely,  at  Barron,  Cumberland  and  Chetek. 
There  are  also  two  graded  schools  in  the  county  besides  those 
already  mentioned,  Cameron  and  Turtle  Lake. 

The  teachers  in  the  county  have  mainly  been  furnished 
by  the  free  high  schools  of  the  county,  and  many  of  these 
teachers  have  proved  quite  successful. 

6S2 


BARRON  COUNTY  SCHOOLS.  633 

The  course  of  study  for  ungraded  schools  has  been  gen- 
erally adopted  in  this  county,  and  five  graduates  from  the 
course  have  been  given  diplomas. 

Much  pride  is  manifested  in  the  buildings,  and  useful 
appurtenances  connected  with  the  schools,  and  new  build- 
ings, are  to  be  seen  in  every  town. 

N.  E.  Carver. 


Shawano  County  Schools. 


The  first  school  district  organized  in  the  county  was  No. 
1,  town  of  Richmond,  in  1855.  Julius  Murray,  William 
Grimmer  and  Charles  D.  Westcott  constituted  the  first  school 
board,  being  clerk,  treasurer  and  director,  in  order  of  names 
just  given.  This  board  engaged  Miss  Mary  Murray  as  teacher 
of  a  school  opened  the  winter  of  1855,  in  a  building  located 
on  section  25  in  that  district.  This  was  the  first  public 
school  taught  in  Shawano  county.  The  district  erected  a 
school  house  on  section  30  the  same  year,  in  which  Mrs. 
Nancy  Munn  taught  during  the  spring  and  summer;  this 
was  the  first  school  taught  in  the  county  in  a  house  erected 
expressly  for  school  purposes.  Mrs.  A.  P.  Knapp  and  0.  A. 
Andrews  were  among  the  earlier  teachers  in  this  district. 

These  were  typical  frontier  schools;  for  west  to  the 
Pacific,  northwest  to  Bering  sea,  and  north  to  the  Arctic 
ocean,  there  lay  the  almost  unknown  wilderness  with  its 
aboriginal  inhabitants ;  Indian  trails  and  nature's  highways, 
the  lakes  and  streams,  constituted  the  only  available 
thoroughfares.  All  supplies  were  obtained  from  Green  Bay 
by  passing  up  the  Fox  and  Wolf  rivers  by  the  way  of  Lake 
Winnebago.  Settlers  came  into  the  county  slowly,  and  it 
was  not  until  about  1860  that  schools  were  established  in  the 
towns  of  Hartland  and  Pella.  From  1863  to  1866  inclusive, 
schools  were  maintained  in  tlie  towns  of  Grant,  Herman, 
Belle  Plaine,  Fairbanks,  Waukechon  and  Washington. 
Schools  were  maintained  during  the  ensuing  years,  from 
1866  to  1872,  in  the  towns  of  Navarino,  Lessor,  Angelica, 
Hutchins  and  Seneca.  The  county  superintendent's  report 
for  1872,  the  earliest  on  file  in  the  office,  shows  twenty-seven 
districts  in  the  county  for  that  year,  and  1,267  children  of 
school  age,  518  of  whom  were  in  school  some  portion  of  the 
year.  By  this  report,  it  appears  that  the  school  buildings 
were  valued  at  $6,660,  and  would  accommodate  1,165  pupils. 
After  the  completion  of  the  Milwaukee,  Lake  Shore  &  West- 
ern railroad  through  the  county,  in  1880-81,  settlers  occu- 
pied much  of  the  western  portion,  and  districts  were 
formed  in  the  towns  of  Aniwa,  Birnamwood,  Almond,  Wit- 


634 


SHAWANO   CX)UNTY   SCHOOLS. 


635 


tenberg,  Morris  and  Germania,  until,  by  the  report  of  June 
30,  1892,  there  were  98  districts,  and  8,014  children  of 
school  age. 

Commencing  with  the  report  of  1872  and  ending  with 
that  of  1892,  each  successive  fifth  year  gives  the  exhibit  here- 
with appended. 


Year. 

No.  of 
School 
Houses. 

Children 

of 

School  Age. 

Children 

in 
Schools, 

Per  Cent,  of 

School 

Population 

Enrolled. 

Value  of 
School  Houses. 

Number  Ac- 
commodated 
in  Schools. 

1872  . . . 
1877  . . . 
1882  . . . 
1887  ... 
1892  . . . 

27 
53 
59 
87 
98 

1,267 
2,586 
3,972 
6,066 
8,014 

518 
1,713 
2,066 
2,988 
4,253 

41% 
66% 
52% 
49% 

53% 

$  6,660 
14,753 
18,722 
23,541 
52,834 

1,165- 
2,563 
3,191 
4,035 
5,305 

Since  the  adoption  of  the  county  superintendency,  the 
following  persons  have  held  the  office  in  the  order  and  for 
the  time  stated  :  Myron  H.  McCord,  two  years ;  A.  P.  Knapp^ 
two  years  ;  Clark  Colburn,  four  years  ;  C.  R.  Klebesadel,  four 
years  ;  Miss  C.  A.  Magee,  two  years ;  William  Sommers,  four 
years  ;  E.  E.  Breed,  three  years  ;  W.  A.  Gralapp,  four  years ;  L. 
D.  Roberts,  four  years,  ending  with  the  present  term.  He  has 
been  elected  as  his  own  successor  for  the  ensuing  two  years, 
commencing  with  January,  1893. 

At  present  writing,  November  18th,  1892,  the  following 
summary  in  reference  to  schools  under  the  county  superin- 
tendent's supervision  will  be  sufiicient :  (1)  In  general,  the 
course  prescribed  in  the  manual  for  common  schools,  pre- 
pared by  the  state  department,  is  being  followed,  (2)  During 
the  past  year  several  pupils  were  graduated  from  this  course, 
receiving  the  common  school  diploma.  (3)  Lists  of  questions 
to  test  the  competency  of  prospective  graduates  are  sent  to 
each  school.  The  papers  of  those  who  write  are  forwarded 
to  the  county  superintendent's  ofiice  for  inspection.  (4)  A  uni- 
form classification  record  has  been  adopted  for  the  county, 
which  exhibits,  for  the  benefit  of  each  succeeding  teacher,  the 
following  items,  a  copy  of  the  same  being  sent  to  the  county 
superintendent :  (a)  standing  of  each  pupil  in  each  branch 
studied  during  the  term  ;  (b)  pupils  of  each  class,  and  work 
done  during  the  term;  (c)  programme  in  use  at  the  close 
of  the  preceding  term  ;  (d)  explanations  and  suggestions  by 
the  outgoing  teacher. 

There  are  four  graded  schools  in  the  county  at  present, 
located  as  follows,  and  having  the  number  of  departments 


636  SHAWANO   COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

noted  :  In  each  of  the  villages  Tigerton  and  Wittenberg,  two 
departments  ;  the  village  ot  Birnamwood,  tliree  departments ; 
city  of  Shawano,  five  departments. 

In  1860  the  first  school  building  was  erected  in  the 
limits  of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Shawano.  It  was  located  in 
that  portion  of  the  city  now  known  as  the  Third  ward.  Mr. 
Bell  and  A.  P.  Knapp  were  among  the  earlier  teachers  in 
this  building.  Later,  about  the  year  1869,  a  larger  building 
was  put  up  in  what  is  now  the  First  ward.  The  first  graded 
school  of  the  county  was  taught  in  this  building.  Harriet 
Vesey,  H.  Hamilton,  L.  D.  Roberts  and  G.  W.  Currier  were 
successive  principals  of  this  school.  The  building  just  re- 
ferred to  was  afterwards  enlarged  to  accommodate  the  high 
school. 

The  Shawano  free  high  school  was  organized  during  the 
winter  of  1880.  It  did  not  open,  however,  until  spring. 
This  term  was  taught  in  a  hall  of  the  McCord  building,  the 
addition  to  the  school  house  not  being  ready  for  occupancy 
until  the  fall  of  1880.  L.  D.  Roberts  was  the  first  principal 
of  this  school.  He  continued  in  this  capacity,  having  the 
supervision  also  of  the  graded  school  in  connection  therewith, 
until  the  close  of  the  spring  term  of  1888,  excepting  one 
school  year,  however,  that  ending  with  the  spring  term  of 
1883.     J.  J.  Thompson  was  in  charge  during  this  time. 

The  first  class  graduated  at  the  close  of  the  spring  term 
of  1881.  It  consisted  of  four  members.  A  class  has  been 
graduated  for  each  succeeding  spring  term,  except  in  1892. 
The  exception  was  caused  by  adding  one  year  to  the  course. 
W.  H.  Hickok,  the  present  principal,  has  been  in  charge  of 
the  school  since  the  beginning  of  the  fall  term  of  1888,  at 
which  time  the  new  school  building,  occupying  the  site  of 
the  one  last  mentioned,  was  completed  and  occupied  by  the 
graded  and  high  school.  This  is  a  commodious  two-story 
brick  structure  with  eight  rooms.  It  is  constructed  after  the 
most  approved  modern  plans,  and  is  supplied  with  the 
Ruttan  system  of  warming  and  ventilation,  including  the 
dry  closet  accessories.  The  four  years'  course,  English  and 
scientific,  as  outlined  by  the  state  superintendent,  was  adopted 
for  the  school,  commencing  with  the  fall  term  of  1891.  Ger- 
man, however,  was  dropped,  and  Latin  is  substituted,  at  the 
option  of  the  pupil,  for  ancient  and  English  history,  and 
English  literature.  At  this  time  also,  1891,  an  assistant  was 
added  to  the  teaching  force  of  the  high  school.  The  first 
class  will  be  graduated  from  this  course  at  the  spring  term 


SHAWANO   COUNTY   SCHOOLS.  637 

commencement  of  1893.  The  school  will  doubtless  be  placed 
on  the  accredited  list  of  the  state  university  during  the 
ensuing  year.  Fifty-three  persons  have  been  graduated 
from  the  school  since  its  organization  in  1880. 

At  the  present  date,  November  18th,  1892,  the  public 
school  system  of  Shawano  county  comprises  ninety-four 
schools  of  one  department,  four  of  two  or  more  departments, 
and  one  free  high  school.  There  are  8,014  children  of  school 
age,  and  107  teachers  are  required  when  all  of  the  schools  are 
in  session. 

L.  D,  Roberts. 


LUTHERAN  EDUCATION  IN  WISCONSIN. 


The  Parochial  School-System  of  the  Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran  Church  in  the  State 
of  Wisconsin. 


I. — GENERAL    FEATURES. 

The  instruction  of  the  children  was,  from  the  beginning, 
a  leading  feature  of  the  Lutheran  church,  wheresoever  it  has 
found  followers.  Mindful  of  their  great  leader's  word : 
"  Where  God's  word  does  not  rule,  there  I  do  not  advise 
anyone  to  send  his  child  to,"  Lutheran  congregations  and 
ministers  in  Wisconsin  have  generally  followed  the  rule  to 
establish  a  school  for  the  children  within  each  congregation 
or  parochial  district,  whenever  means  and  circumstances 
would  allow  it.  Whilst  acknowledging  the  necessity  and 
usefulness  of  free  public  schools  for  the  public  welfare,  and 
willingly  contributing  their  share  toward  their  support,  they 
always  held  that  the  youth  should  be  trained  inside  the 
church  and  not  outside  of  it;  that  the  education  of  their 
children  should  be  in  the  hands  of  professedly  Christian 
teachers,  should  be  tempered  and  seasoned  with  the  Gospel, 
and  should  include  the  moral,  as  well  as  the  intellectual 
nature ;  that  the  schools  should  be  nurseries,  not  only  for 
good  citizenship,  but  also  for  good  membership  in  the 
church,  and  that  it  is  a  function  incumbent  on  the  pastor  to 
lead  in  the  establishment  of  schools  within  his  parish  and 
not  only  to  superintend,  but  also,  circumstances  not  allowing 
the  appointment  of  a  professional  teacher,  to  impart  instruc- 
tion himself. 

II — THE  OLDEST  LUTHERAN  SCHOOLS   IN  WISCONSIN. 

The  oldest  Lutheran  synodical  bodies  represented  in 
Wisconsin  were  the  Buffalo  synod  and,  closely  following  it, 
the  synod  of  Missouri,  Ohio  and  other  states.  Following 
■^he  above  principles,  their  congregations  in  Milwaukee, 
-^own  Lebanon,  Dodge  county;  Cedarburg  and  Freistadt, 
Ozaukee  county;  Kirclihayn,  Washington  county,  had 
parochial  schools  from  their  beginning.  The  venerable 
Father  A.  Stiemke,  the  first  teacher  of  the  school  at  Kirch- 
hayn,  is  still  among  the  living,  though  retired  from  active 
service.  In  Milwaukee,  however,  the  oldest  Lutheran 
congregation  belonged  to  neither  of  those  two  synods,  but 
was  gathered  and  served  by  an  independent  Lutheran  min- 

640 


LUTHERAN   EDUCATION   IN    WISCONSIN. 


641 


ister,   the   Reverend    Kluegel.     So  far    as  known,   he,  too, 
founded  a  school  in  connection  with  his  church. 

Ill — THE  SYNOD  OF  WISCONSIN. 

The  Evangelical  Lutheran  synod  of  Wisconsin  v? 
perhaps  a  decade  after  the  spreading  of  the  above  named 
synods  into  Wisconsin,  founded  in  December,  1849,  at  Mil- 
waukee. Its  first  officers  were  the  Reverend  J.  Muehlhaeuser, 
of  the  Gnaden-Geraeinde  in  Milwaukee,  as  president;  Rev. 
J.  Weinmann,  of  Racine,  as  secretary  ;  and  Rev.  W.  Wrede, 
of  Granville,  treasurer.  Each  of  these  had  a  school  con- 
nected with  his  church.  Mr.  W.  Weigle,  one  of  the  first 
teachers  of  the  Gnaden  school,  is  still  in  active  service 
at  Milwaukee. 

Since  that  time  the  Wisconsin  synod  has  steadily  in- 
creased so  that,  according  to  the  latest  returns,  it  now  num- 
bers 134  ministers,  and  239  congregations  with  77,755  com- 
municant members. 

There  are  150  parochial  schools,  with  about  8,000 
pupils.  These  are  taught  by  110  regular  teachers — a  few  of 
them  ladies — besides  whom  75  pastors  of  congregations  serve, 
at  the  same  time,  also  as  teachers  in  their  respective  schools. 

These  schools  are  scattered  all  over  the  state,  excepting 
the  following  counties :  Adams,  Bayfield,  Burnett,  Douglass, 
Eau  Claire,  Florence,  Forest,  Iowa,  Jackson,  Langlade,  La 
Fayette,  Oconto,  Lincoln,  Oneida,  Ozaukee,  Price,  Sawyer, 
Rock,  St.  Croix,  Washburn,  Pepin,  JPierce,  Richland,  Shawano. 
In  the  other  counties  they  are  represented  as  follows : 


County. 


Schools. 


Teachers. 


Piipils 


Barron,  1 Cameron 1  (the  Pastor.) 

Brown,  2 Cireen  Bav 1  (P.) 

Wrightstown 1  (P.) 

Buffalo,  1 Fountain  Citv 1  (P.) 

Cahimet,  2 Brillion .' 1  (P.) 

Dundas 1  (P.) 

Chippewa,  1 Eagleton 1  (P.) 

Clark,  1 Neillsville j  i  (P.) 

Cohimbia,  4 Columbus I  1 

iLeeds 1  (P.) 

Randolph \    ,  /p 

Fountain  Prairie..  (  I      ^    *' 
Crawford,  1 Prairie  du  Chien j  1  (P.) 


Dane,  1 Deerfield 

Dodge,  14 Juneau , 

Hustisford., 

Bethany 

Lowell , 

Oak  Grove., 


(P.) 
(P.) 


76 
50 
24 
16 
25 
37 
25 
29 
&i 
28 

48 


:^6 

118 


642 


LUTHERAN   EDl'CATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 


County. 


Schools. 


Dodge-Continued, 


Door,  ;L 
Dunn,  2 


Fond  (\n  Lai-,  4.. 


Grant,  1 

Green,  1 

Green  Lake,  ii . 


Jefferson,  i:i 


Juneau,  1.... 
Kenosha,  ii.. 


Kewaunee,  2.. 
La  Crot<se,  4... 


Manitowoc,  it 


Marathon,  :i 


Marinette,  2.. 
Marquette,  'A. 


Milwaukee  Citv 


Theresa 

Brownsville 

:  North  Woodland 
iTown  Herman,  3 

jlron  Kidge , 

iTheresa... 

JBeaver  Dam 

Sturgeon  Bay ' 

Menomonee 

Hatehville 

iFond  du  Lac 

jVan  Dyne 

iEldorado 

Town  Forest 

Platteville 

Sylvester 

iManchester  \ 

jMarkesan...  ) 

I  Princeton 

[Waterloo 

Port  Atkinson.. ) 

Cold  Spring j  *" 

Rome 

Watertown  \ 

Richwood..  I 

Helenville 

Jefferson 

Lake  Mills  (2) 

Ixonia  Center  (3).. 

Woneytoc 

Kenosha 

Somers 

ISlade's  Corner.... 

Kewaunee 

lAhnapee 

Burr  Oak , 

La  Crosse 

North  La  Crosse. 

Barre  Mills 

^fanitowoc 

Rosecrans 

Larrabee 

Reedsville 

Centerville 

Two  Rivers 

Newton 

Rube 

MacMillan 

Naugart 

Marathon 

Marinette 

Peshti«;o 

Montello 

Macane 

Germania 

12 


(P.) 
(P-) 
(P-) 
(P.) 

(P.) 


1(P.) 

1(P.) 

1(P.) 

2  and 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 

3 

1(P.) 

1(P.) 

1(P) 

1(P. 

1(P. 

1  (P.) 
1 

l(P-) 
2 

1  (P.) 


1  (P.) 

1 

1  (P.) 

2 

1 

2 

1 
1 
1 

1 

1  (P.) 


(P.) 

(P.) 
(P.) 


1  (P.) 

1 

4 

1 

1 

9 


(P.) 
(P.) 


1    (P.) 

1 

1     (P.) 

1    (P.) 

1 

1    (P.) 

1    (P.) 

1 

1    (P.) 

1    (P.) 

1 

1 

32 


Pupils. 


24 

25 

37 

151 

45 

4fi 

no 
2:j 

111 
2() 

210 
36 
46 
52 
45 
5 

79 

{>5 

28 

m 

18 

246 

47 


40 
140 

;w 

41 

69 

27 

120 

103 

265 

41 

:^o 

126 

35 

J>2 
45 
40 
97 
20 
(W 
44 
32 

1(5 
2,()00 


LUTHERAN    EDUCATION    IN    WISCONSIN. 


643 


County. 


Milwaukee  Coun- 
ty, 7 


Schools. 


Teachers. 


Monrtje,  4. 


Outagamie,  (5. 


Polk,  1 

Racine,  4.. 


.Sauk,  2 , 

•Sheboygan,  4., 


Taylor,! 

Trempealeau,  1. 

Vernon,  1 

Walworth,  :> 


Washington,  7 

Waukesha,  ;^., 
Waupaca,  4 


AVausliara,  1... 
AVinnebago,  o. 


Wood,  1. 


Oakwooil ' 

Root  Creek 

Granville \ 

West  Granville.  J  ""i 

Town  Franklin 

Wauwatosa 

Wauwatosa 

Clifton 

Tomah 

Ridgeville 

Milton 

Appleton ' 

Hortonville 

Centerville 

Bungert 

Apple  Creek 

Kaukauna 

East  Farmiugton.... 
Caledonia...  \ 

Frankville.   ( 

Racine 

Burlington 

Baraboo 

Merrimack 

Mosel \ 

Schleswig  j 

Howard's  Grove  (2), 

Medford 

Arcadia j 

Chaseburgh I 

Whitewater ,.I 

Elkhorn I 

Lake  Geneva I 

Kewaskum \ 

Hartford j 

West  Bend ' 

Kirchhavn  (2) j 

Town  AVayne  \ 

lAddison j I 

Ocononiowoc ' 

jTess  Corners 

i  Waukesha 

Weyauwega 

New  London  ^  < 

iCaledonia  ....  > ) 

iMaple  Creek  j  j 

Town  Bloomiield... 

Oshkosh j 

.Neenah | 

Winchester ...  \ 

IWinneconne   j  ; 

iMenasba j 

'Marshfield 


1  (P.) 
1  (P.) 


(P.) 
(P.) 

(P.) 
iP.) 

(P.) 
(P-) 
(P.) 


]  and  P. 


and 

(P.) 


1  (P.) 

1 
1 

1  (P.) 
1  (P.) 

1  and 


and 

(P.) 
(P.) 
(P.) 
(P.) 
(P.) 
(P.) 
(P.) 
(P.) 


(P.) 

(P.) 
(P.) 


1  and  P. 

1  (P.) 

2 

1 


(P.) 

(P 

(P. 


Pupils. 


71 

OS 

.V) 
17(1 


/•> 

:'A 

l() 

12<i 

m 

24 
Hi 

m 

10:J 

:J8 

415 

(« 
(Mi 
24 
22 

(Hi 

7(i 

:u 

12 
4o 
27 
27 
•{<> 
22 
15 
{« 
72 

<>5 

118 
iiS 
47 
40 

SO 


8S 
70 

(50 

49 
81 


Summary:     Schools,  149;   teachers  (including  pastors), 
175 ;  pupils,  9,059. 


644  LUTHERAN   EDUCATION    IN    WISCONSIN. 

Each  of  these  schools  is  owned  and  controlled  by  the 
congregation  to  wliich  it  belongs.  The  congregation  calls 
and  appoints  the  teacher,  and  also  pays  his  salary.  In  most, 
especially  larger  schools,  a  monthly  tuition  fee  of  twenty-five 
cents  is  charged  for  each  pupil.  The  superintendence  and 
general  management  of  the  school  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
minister,  aided  by  a  committee  of  deacons. 

The  branches  taught  in  all  of  these  schools  are  religion, 
reading  and  writing  of  the  German  language,  arithmetic,  in 
most  of  them  also  reading,  writing  and  grammar  of  the  En- 
glish language;  common  and  United  States  history,  geog- 
raphy, singing,  in  some  also  drawing.  In  some,  especially 
country  schools,  no  English  is  taught,  the  children  attending, 
for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  the  public  school.  The 
medium  of  instruction  in  sixty-two  schools  is  German,  in  the 
others  German  and  English. 

A  committee  appointed  by  the  synod  is  engaged  in  lay- 
ing out  and  publishing  elaborate  courses  of  study  tor  the  dif- 
ferent grades  of  schools.  One  course  adapted  to  the  use  in  one- 
class  schools,  and  another  for  a  four-class  school,  have  been 
finished  and  published — for  the  present  only  in  German — in 
the  "  Lutherische  Schulzeitung." 

In  order  to  supply  vacant  schools  with  suitable  teachers, 
the  synod,  several  years  ago,  established  a  normal  department 
in  connection  with  the  Northwestern  university  at  Water- 
town. 

The  teachers  of  each  .synodical  district  hold  regular 
monthly  or  quarterly  meetings,  or  institutes.  A  yearly  gen- 
eral teachers'  meeting  is  held  in  connection  with  the  meeting 
of  the  synod.  The  teachers  of  the  synod  have  an  organ,  the 
"  Lutherische  Schulzeitung."  It  is  a  monthly,  published  by 
the  synod,  at  its  Northwestern  publishing  house,  310  Third 
street,  Milwaukee.  The  editor  is  Dr.  F.  W.  A.  Notz,  aided  by 
his  colleagues  of  the  Northwestern  university.  It  is  now  in 
its  seventeenth  year.  The  editor  is  also  secretary  to  the 
synod  for  matters  relating  to  parochial  schools  and,  in  1889, 
successfully  started  the  opposition  to  attempts  at  oppressive 
school  legislation  made  by  politicians,  which  of  late  has  been 
a  prominent  feature  in  Western  politics. 

IV. — THE   SYNOD   OF   MISSOURI. 

The  organization  of  the  parochial  schools  belonging  to 
the  Evangelical  Lutheran  synod  of  Missouri  is  essentially  the 


LUTHERAN   EDUCATION    IN   W-l8GO>fSIN.  645 

same  as  that  of  the  schools  of  the  Wisconsin  synod,  as  out- 
lined in  the  foregoing.  It  may  be  added  that  the  Missouri 
schools  draw  their  supply  of  teachers  from  the  normal  school 
at  Addison,  Du  Page  county,  Illinois,  and  that  the  organ  of 
their  teachers  is  the  "  Lutherische  Schulblatt,"  a  monthly 
now  in  its  twenty-seventh  year,  and  published  by  the  Con- 
cordia publishing  house  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

So  far  as  reports  are  on  hand,  the  schools  of  this  synod 
are  distributed  over  the  following  counties  of  Wisconsin. 


Counties. 


Schools. 


Teachers. 


Ashland 

Bayfield 

Brown 

Butfaio ' 

Calumet ' 

Chippewa '< 

Clark 

Columbia j 

Dodge 

Door 

Douglass 

Eau  Claire 

Fond  du  Lac 

Grant 

Green  Lake 

Jefferson 

Lincoln 

Marathon 

^larquette 

Milwaukee  city ... 
Milwaukee  county 

Ozaukee 

Portage 

Racine 

Richland 

Rock 

St.  Croix 

Sauk 

Shawano 

Sheboygan 

"Washington 

Waupaca 

Waushara 

W^innebago , 

Wood 


5 
1 
1 

1 
1 

2 

1 
9 
1 
1 
5 
1 
2 
1 
3 
3 
3 
2 
9 
2 
3 
5 
2 
2 
5 
1 
2 
10 
9 
1 
5 
1 
1 
3 


Pupils. 


17^t 
20 
52 

'<SA 
73 

30 
108 
307 

38 

169 

32 

21 

50 

284 

Kio 

181 

105 

2,75« 

70 

251 

292 

226 

50 

275 

53 

153 

516 

1,129 

59 

375 

123 

250 

86 


Summary:    Schools,  107;  teachers*,  140;  pupils,  8,499. 


*  Including  pastors  who,  at  the  same  time,  are  teachers  in  their  schools. 


646  LUTHERAN   EDUCATION    IN    WISCONSIN. 

V. PAROCHIAL    SCHOOLS   OF    OTHER    LUTHERAN    SYNODS. 


Uouuty. 


Svnod. 


Brown 

Chippewa. 

Dane 

Dane 

Dane 

Douglass... 

Dodge 

Dodge 


Dunn 

Eau  Claire 

Fond  du  [..ac. 

Grant 

Grant 

Jackson 

Jefterson 


I^  Fayette 

^larquette 

Milwaukee  City. 

Outagamie 

O/aukee 

Pepin 

Pierce 

Racine 

Kacine 

Kichland 

Kock 

St.  Croix 

St.  Croix 

Sauk 

Taylor 

Walworth 

Walworth 

Washington 

AVaiipaca 

Waushara 

Winnebago 


Danish  Lutheran  S 

Iowa  S 

Iowa  S 

Norwegian  S 

Augsburg  S 

Iowa  S 

Independent 

OhioS 

Iowa  S 

Iowa  S 

Iowa  S 

Iowa  S..- 

Iowa  S 

Augsburg  S 

Norwegian  S 

Iowa  S 

Ohio  S 

Independent 

Norwegian  S 

Iowa  S 

BuftaloS 

OhioS 

Iowa  S 

Iowa  S 

Minnesota  S 

OhioS 

Norwegian  S 

Iowa  S 

Ohio 

Ohio 

Norwegian  S 

Iowa  S 

General  S 

Ohio 

Norwegian  S 

Buffalo  S 

Ohio  S 

Iowa  S 

Iowa  S 

Ohio  S 

Norwegian  S 


Schools.    Teachers.    Pupils 


86 
250 

40 


80 

57 
HO 
44 
70 
275 
30 

190 
39 

39 

121 

17 

7 
27 
(>5 

25 
25 

91 

18 

80 
22 
47 

(52 

45X5 

23 


Summary:     Schools,  63;  teachers,  57;  pupils,  2,464. 

F.  W.  A.  NoTZ. 


Northwestern  University,  Watertown,  Wis. 


No  sooner  bad  the  Lutherans  of  tliis  state  organized 
themselves  than  they  began  to  make  provisions  lor  the 
higher  education  of  their  youth.  The  motives  for  this 
were  a  desire  to  keep  up  the  standard  of  education  to  which 
the  clergy  were  accustomed,  and  also  the  knowledge  that 
young  men  educated  in  this  country  were  needed  to  build 
up  congregations  amongst  the  newly  arrived  immigrants, 
who  were  then  flocking  in  such  large  numbers  to  our  shores. 

Since  the  majority  of  Lutherans,  at  that  time,  were 
thrifty  peasants  or  artisans,  means  were  not  abundant. 
Moreover,  the  time  was  singularly  unfavorable,  for  the  war 
between  the  North  and  the  South  was  still  waging.  Never- 
theless the  Lutheran  synod  of  Wisconsin  resolved  to  build 
a  college  and  a  seminary  as  soon  as  possible. 

After  the  matter  had  been  tlioroughly  discussed,  it  was 
decided,  at  Milwaukee,  in  1863,  to  found  a  college  at  Water- 
town.  Here  on  the  14th  of  September,  1865,  the  first  session 
of  the  Northwestern  University  began.  After  some  ex- 
perimenting under  the  first  two  presidents,  the  whole  course 
of  studies  was  reconstructed  by  the  new  president.  Prof. 
A.  F.  Ernst,  who  entered  on  his  duties  in  1869,  and  who 
has  ever  since  been  at  tiie  head  of  the  institution.  Presi- 
dent Ernst,  after  being  graduated  from  a  German  gymnasium 
pursued  his  academic  studies  at  Giessen  and  Goettingen. 
For  seven  or  eight  years  he  had  a  charge  in  New  York, 
after  which  he  entered  on  his  present  position,  for  which 
his  studies  in  pedagogy  and  philosophy  have  especially 
qualified  him. 

The  Northwestern  does  not  pretend  to  be  any  more 
than  a  college.  The  course  of  studies  is  made  to  extend 
through  seven  years,  the  average  age  of  the  students  at  their 
entrance  being  little  more  than  thirteen.  The  plan  of 
studies  is  modeled  on  that  of  the  German  gymnasia,,  schools 
that  are  acknowledged  by  the  foremost  educators  of  this 
country  to  give  the  best  secondary  education.  The  students, 
therefore,  have  more  recitations  than  are  usually  required  in 


648  NORTHWESTERN    UNIVERSITY. 

American  colleges,  the  average  number  for  each  class  being 
thirty  a  week ;  and,  secondly,  there  are  very  few  optional 
studies.  Both  the  English  and  the  German  languages  are 
used  in  giving  instruction.  In  the  lower  classes  English 
predominates,  in  the  upper,  German.  Mathematics,  the 
sciences  and  history  in  the  lower  classes  are  taught  in 
English  ;  Latin,  Greek,  and  history  in  the  higher  classes  in 
German. 

The  object  of  the  course  is  to  give  young  men  a  good, 
liberal  education,  which  will  enable  them  to  take  up  after- 
wards and  pursue  with  success  any  one  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions. In  the  classical  languages  the  thoroughness  of  German 
schools  is  aimed  at.  In  this  department  German  text  books, 
as  a  rule,  are  used,  the  juniors  and  seniors  making  use  of  the 
same  books  as  the  German  primaries.  As  the  school  is 
bi-lingual,  a  good  knowledge  of  both  the  English  and  the 
German  language  and  literature  is  demanded.  To  history 
more  attention  is  paid  than  is  customary  at  American  insti- 
tutions. This  study  is  pursued  for  six  years,  two  recitations 
a  week,  except  in  the  junior  and  the  senior  year,  when  four 
recitations  a  week  are  required.  Thus  the  students  obtain  a 
fair  knowledge  of  the  political  history  and  civilization  of 
mankind.  To  mathematics  the  same  attention  is  paid  as  at 
most  of  the  American  colleges.  The  sciences  are  pursued  so 
far  as  a  liberal  education  seems  to  demand. 

The  first  class  was  graduated  in  1872.  Since  then  118 
students  have  finished  the  classical  course  and  received  the 
degree  of  B.  A.  For  the  last  five  years  the  average  number 
of  students  attending  has  been  170.  The  whole  number  of 
students  attending  during  the  twenty-eight  years  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  institution  is  in  the  vicinity  of  2,500.  Apart 
from  the  classical  department  there  are  an  academic  and 
a  normal  department,  both  of  which  embrace  a  course  of 
studies  covering  five  years. 

In  addition  to  the  building  erected  in  1864-5,  there  have 
been  added  two  others,  one  in  1875,  the  other  in  1888.  In 
1876  the  students  built  a  gymnasium,  which  is  still  entirely 
under  their  control. 

The  institution  is  supported  mainly  by  the  congrega- 
tions of  the  Lutheran  synod  of  Wisconsin.  As  yet  it  has  no 
endowment  fund ;  but  strong  hopes  are  entertained  that  en- 
dowments will  be  secured  within  the  next  five  and  twenty 
years,  thus  enabling  the  college  to  attend  still  better  to  the 
wants  of  its  patrons. 


650  NORTHWESTERN  UNIVERSITY. 

At  present  the  faculty  consists  of  eight  teachers.  They 
are  :  A.  F.  Ernst,  president,  and  professor  of  ethics  and 
psychology;  F.  W.  A.  Notz,  Ph.  D.,  Greek  ;  J.  H.  Ott,  Ph.  D., 
Enghsh  ;  W.  F.  Weimar,  B.  A.,  mathematics;  John  P. 
Koehler,  B.  A.,  history  and  Latin ;  Andrew  Schroedel,  B.  A., 
Latin  and  German ;  H.  R.  Plum,  sciences;  Herman  Schu- 
macher, preparatory  department, 

J.  H.  Ott. 


Concordia  College,  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 


Concordia  college,  located  in  Milwaukee,  is  an  institu- 
tion of  the  church,  being  conducted  and  supported  by  the 
"  Evangelical  Lutheran  synod  of  Missouri,  Ohio,  and  other 
states,"  one  of  the  largest  branches  of  the  Lutheran  church 
in  America. 

The  special  object  of  the  education  afforded  in  Concordia 
college  is  to  prepare  Christian  young  men  for  a  thorough 
€Ourse  in  theology.  The  college  may  therefore  be  considered 
a  preparatory  institution  for  such  Lutheran  divinity  schools 
as  require  for  admission  a  good  speaking  knowledge  of  Latin, 
a  thorough  acquaintance  with  Greek  and  Hebrew,  the  lan- 
guages ot  the  Old  and  the  New  Testament,  and  a  mastery  of 
English  and  German. 

At  the  same  time  it  is  the  general  aim  of  Concordia  col- 
lege to  fit  young  men  to  pursue  successfully  the  advanced 
courses  of  study  offered  by  the  best  universities  of  the  country, 
as  well  as  to  instruct  and  preserve  its  charges  in  the  true 
Christian  faith  as  taught  in  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  church. 

With  this  end  in  view,  Concordia  college  was  modeled 
after  the  "  gymnasia "  of  Germany,  where  most  time  and 
energy  are  expended  on  the  classics.  But  in  order  to  give 
the  young  men  committed  to  the  care  of  the  college  a  cul- 
ture somewhat  more  suited  to  their  wants  as  American 
citizens,  certain  branches  of  knowledge  were  added  to  the 
curriculum  not  commonly  included  in  that  of  the  Latin 
schools  of  Europe. 

The  subjects  in  which  instruction  is  provided  are  as  fol- 
lows: Religion,  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  English,  German, 
French,  including  American,  mathematics,  natural  sciences, 
geography,  drawing,  penmanship,  music. 

This  course  of  studies  covers  a  period  of  six  years. 
Each  study  is  obligatory  upon  all  pupils ;  but  it  is  believed 
that  a  young  man  of  good  parts  and  close  application  will 
readily  pass  from  class  to  class. 

There  are  no  seniors,  juniors,  etc.,  at  Concordia  college, 
as  the  classes  are  designated  by  Latin  names.  The  graduat- 
ing class  is  called  prima.  The  others  are  respectively 
termed    secunda,    tertia,     quarta,     quinta,    sexta.      Sexta, 

661 


652  CONCORDIA   COLLEGE. 

which  means  sixth  class,  is  the  lowest  class,  and  is   composed 
of  the  first-year  pupils. 

The  college  is  in  western  Milwaukee,  near  the  city  limits, 
between  State  and  Wells  streets.  The  site  is  elevated,  healthy 
and  beautiful,  and  possesses  every  advantage  of  country  and 
city  life. 

The  grounds  contain  somewhat  more  than  six  acres  of 
land,  intersected  on  the  south  by  Cedar  street.  The  smaller 
part  thus  cut  off  has  been  appropriated  to  the  use  of  the 
professors.  The  larger  tract  affords  a  roomy  campus,  divided 
by  the  college  buildings  into  three  sections.  The  north- 
west section  has  been  laid  out  to  be  used  as  ball  grounds; 
the  northern  section  is  parked,  furnishing  in  its  close  clipped 
lawns,  in  its  shade  trees  and  retired  nooks  and  corners,  a  de- 
sirable place  for  recreation  ;  the  southern  section,  north  of 
Cedar  street,  was  formerly  used  by  the  base  ball  nines  of 
Concordia,  but  has  now  been  transformed  into  a  park. 

A  conspicuous  attraction  of  this  park  is  a  flag-mast, 
seventy-two  feet  high.  The  banner  suspended  on  this  pole 
is  of  regulation  pattern  and  twenty-four  feet  long.  It  was 
flung  to  the  breeze  on  Decoration  day,  when  words  of  pa- 
triotic earnestness  were  addressed  to  the  students.  Both  the 
flag  and  the  mast  were  provided  by  the  gentlemen  ol  prima. 
Among  the  friends  to  whom  they  appealed  for  contributions, 
and  who  responded  most  liberally,  were  the  Messrs.  Stark  Co. 
and  F.  Wollaeger,  Luedke,  etc. 

All  the  trees  that  ornament  Cedar  street  park  were  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  John  Koch,  one  of  the  directors  of  the  insti- 
tution. 

Concordia  college  is  largely  indebted  to  the  same  gentle- 
man for  the  ownership  of  the  northwest  section  of  the 
grounds.  Friend  that  he  is  of  the  institution,  he  bought 
this  property  before  real  estate  commanded  the  phenomenal 
prices  that  it  does  at  present,  and  held  the  same  lor  several 
years,  until,  in  1890,  he  offered  it  for  sale  at  the  original  cost 
to  Joint  synod,  which  naturally  closed  the  bargain  with  the 
utmost  pleasure. 

The  grounds  of  Concordia  college  are  much  admired  by 
visitors  on  account  of  their  singularly  advantageous  situa- 
tion in  a  region  abounding  with  elegant  homes,  fine  private 
parks,  and  all  facilities  for  rapid  transit.  The  roof  of  the 
main  building  commands  a  magnificent  view  of  the  beauti- 
ful scenery  that  surrounds  the  city  of  Milwaukee  on  all 
sides. 


654  CONCORDIA   COLLEGE. 

Concordia  college  has  three  halls  and  six  residences. 

The  main  building,  consists  of  two  wings  and  a  central 
edifice,  is  constructed  of  cream-colored  brick,  with  sandstone 
dressings.  Its  length  is  one  hundred  and  five  feet ;  the  depth 
of  the  wings  is  thirty-seven  feet,  and  that  of  the  central  part 
fifty-nine  feet.  The  wings,  which  contain  two  stories  and  an 
attic,  are  fifty-three  feet  high,  while  the  central  building, 
which  contains  three  stories  and  an  attic,  rises  to  a  height  of 
seventy-one  feet.  The  basement  is  occupied  by  the  kitchen 
department,  two  spacious  dining  halls,  storage  rooms,  and  a 
lavator3\  The  first  story  contains  the  living  apartments  of 
the  steward  and  the  matron,  and  three  large  recitation  rooms. 
The  second  story  contains,in  addition  to  a  few  suites  of  rooms 
for  pupils,  the  museum  and  janitor's  room,  a  class-room  and 
a  stationer's  stall.  The  attics  of  the  wings  and  the  third 
story  of  the  main  portion  are  filled  with  bed-rooms,  while  the 
attic  of  the  main  edifice  is  set  aside  as  a  trunk-room. 

The  second  building,  situated  southwest  of  the  college 
building  proper,  is  a  home  or  dormitory.  It  is  an  attractive 
building  of  wood,  and  two  stories  high,  with  basement  and 
attic.  A  series  of  shower-baths  and  a  number  of  lavatories 
are  located  in  the  basement.  On  the  first  and  the  second 
floor  are  living  rooms  for  the  pupils;  the  attic  is  used  for 
sleeping  apartments.  All  the  bed-rooms  are  furnished  with 
locker  accommodations. 

Another  structure  has  been  erected  directly  south  of  the 
frame  dormitory.  It  is  built  of  brick,  with  trimmings  of 
light  Illinois  sandstone.  It  is  three  stories  in  height  above 
a  well-lighted  basement.  In  the  first  story,  which  is  sixteen 
feet  high,  is  the  chapel,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  300  per- 
sons. Adjoining  the  chapel,  are  two  large  class-rooms.  In 
the  second  story  are  the  library,  a  number  of  rooms  for 
pupils,  and  the  hospital  rooms.  The  last  mentioned  apart- 
ments are  lofty,  admirably  lighted,  thoroughly  ventilated^ 
and  so  situated  that  all  intercourse  with  the  patients  and 
nurses  can  be  avoided  by  the  pupils.  The  third  story  is 
taken  up  by  bed-rooms,  most  of  which  contain  wardrobes. 

As  a  rule,  the  college  buildings  have  wide  and  commo- 
dious halls  and  light,  airy,  comfortable  rooms.  Each  build- 
ing is  provided  with  a  set  of  fire-escapes.  As  to  sanitary 
qualities,  the  buildings  are  firmly  believed  to  be  of  the  first 
order. 

It  has  not  yet  been  stated  that  some  fifty  feet  due  west 
of  the  main  building  is  situated  the  residence  of  the  presi- 


CONCX)RDIA   COLLEGE.  655 

dent.  This  is  a  plain  brick  building,  which  was  purchased 
with  the  grounds. 

Besides  this  residence,  the  college  owns  five  other  dwell- 
ing houses,  situated  south  of  Cedarstreet,  on  what  might  fitly 
be  called  Concordia  place.  These  five  dwellings  are  neat- 
looking  frame  buildings,  furnished  with  all  modern  improve- 
ments. They  are  set  back  from  the  street  some  twenty-five 
feet.  There  are  no  fences,  which  leaves  a  continuous  margin 
of  greensward  in  front  of  the  residences  and  renders  this 
scholarly  region  a  most  charming  abode.  There  is  space  left 
for  one  more  dwelling  on  Concordia  place.  The  professors 
pay  no  rent. 

The  museum  is  located  in  a  large  room  on  the  second 
floor  of  the  main  building.  It  is  made  up  of  a  mineral  cabi- 
net, containing  many  rare  and  unique  specimens,  a  valuable 
collection  of  mounted  bird  skins,  a  well-selected  cabinet  of 
physical  apparatus,  a  large  collection  of  shells,  an  entomolo- 
gical cabinet,  a  limited  number  of  mounted  skins  of  animals, 
a  collection  of  American  antiquities,  and  several  smaller  col- 
lections of  objects  of  general  interest,  besides  a  full  series  of 
maps,  charts,  models  to  illustrate  crystalline  forms,  etc. 

The  various  cabinets  and  collections,  united  in  the 
museum,  are  of  great  value,  but  are  not  seen  at  their  best,  as^ 
for  want  of  available  space,  the  museum  is  too  cramped  in 
its  present  location. 

There  are  two  libraries,  one  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the 
teachers,  the  other  for  the  pupils.  The  former,  placed  in 
the  office  of  the  college,  in  building  No.  3,  is  rather  small ; 
but  though  counting  may  result  in  disappointing  figures, 
weighing  will  give  some  satisfaction.  Among  the  eight 
hundred  books  already  on  the  shelves  are  Teubner's  Latin 
and  Greek  texts,  the  historical  works  of  Mommsen,  Ranke,. 
Becker,  Guizot,  Davila,  and  Justin  Winsor,  Geology  of  AVis- 
consin  in  four  volumes  with  numerous  sets  of  charts,  a  very 
valuable  copy  of  the  Weimar  Bible,  etc.,  etc. 

Tiie  last  mentioned  work  was  donated  by  Mr.  William 
Plankinton.  A  number  of  other  gentlemen,  among  them 
the  Messrs.  August  Luedke,  Gustav  Wollaeger,  William  Starke,, 
etc.,  have  become  interested  in  the  library,  and  will,  no 
doubt,  make  some  handsome  additions  to  the  same. 

The  pupils'  library  is  well  stocked.  It  is  almost  evenly 
composed  of  standard  English  and  German  works,  which 
cover  all  departments  of  literature.  Books  are  issued  once  a 
week  ;  but  the  pupils  are  not  at  liberty  to  draw  those  books 


656  CONCORDIA   COLLEGE. 

for  which  they  liave  a  momentary  fancy,  the  reading  of  the 
pupils  being  superintended  and  guided  by  the  librarian,  a 
member  of  the  faculty. 

The  history  of  Concordia  college  is  quite  interesting  and 
encouraging.  The  institution  was  founded  in  1881  by  the 
"Evangelical  Lutheran  synod,  of  Missouri,  Ohio,  and  other 
states.''  Organized  as  early  as  1847,  this  notable  body  of 
congregations  established  an  institution  of  the  same  kind 
many  years  ago  at  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana.  This  latter  school, 
the  prototype  of  the  Milwaukee  institution,  has  grown  to  be 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  prominent  institutions  of  learn- 
ing in  the  state  of  Indiana. 

Yet  a  need  for  a  second  Latin  school  was  sorely  felt  in 
the  course  of  time,  as  the  growth  of  synod  is  proportionate  to 
the  astonishing  growth  of  the  Lutheran  population  in  this 
country.  Accordingly,  Joint  synod,  in  its  convention  at 
Fort  Wayne,  in  the  spring  of  1881,  encouraged  three  of  its 
districts,  viz.,  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  and  Minnesota  districts,  to 
establish  a  "gymnasium"  at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  This 
was  done,  and  the  institution  was  named  Concordia  college. 
It  was  then  that  Trinity  German  Lutheran  congregation,  of 
this  city,  was  generous  enough  to  place  at  the  disposal  of 
the  college  a  large  room  in  its  school  on  Ninth  street.  Mr.  C. 
Huth,  C.  R.  M.,  a  graduate  of  Concordia  seminary,  of  St. 
Louis,  was  appointed  professor. 

On  the  1st  of  September,  1881,  the  college  was  opened 
with  an  enrollment  of  thirteen  pupils.  This  was,  indeed,  the 
day  of  small  things  ;  but  in  the  second  year  of  the  existence 
of  the  institution  the  number  of  pupils  had  already  so  in- 
creased as  to  necessitate  the  appointment  of  a  second  pro- 
fessor and  the  erection  of  a  large  building  for  the  accommo- 
modation  of  the  school.  Rev.  E.  Hamann,  a  graduate  of  the 
university  of  the  city  of  New  York,  was  found  willing  to 
accept  the  chair  of  mathematics  and  natural  sciences.  A 
splendid  piece  of  property,  located  near  the  western  limits  of 
the  city,  was  purchased  for  $9,000,  and  a  large  and  striking 
building  was  put  up  at  a  cost  of  $16,000.  The  new  home 
was  taken  possession  of  January,  1883.  In  the  fall  of  the 
same  year.  Rev.  W.  Mueller  was  added  to  the  teaching  force 
as  professor  of  English.  At  the  same  time,  two  residences, 
designed  for  the  use  of  professors,  were  built  on  the  college 
grounds. 

The  growth  of  the  institution  during  its  fourth  year  was 
such  as  to  render  necessary  the  erection  of  a  dormitory,  which 


CONCORDIA    COLLEGE.  657 

cost  upwards  of  $4,000.  Mr.  O.  Hattstaedt,  C.  R.  M.,  a  grad- 
uate of  Concordia  seminary  of  St.  Louis,  was  made  head  of 
the  German  department. 

The  course  now  embraced  four  years.  In  the  fall  of 
1885,  tlie  former  well-known  pastor  of  St.  Stephen's,  of  this 
city.  Rev.  C.  H.  Loeber,  was  prevailed  on  to  take  charge  of 
a  professorship.  At  the  same  time  he  was  appointed  presi- 
dent of  the  college.  But  no  further  class  was  added, 
although  a  six  years'  course  had  been  originally  con- 
templated. This  compelled  the  graduates  to  pursue  their 
studies  for  two  more  years  at  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  before  they 
could  qualify  for  St.  Louis. 

In  1887  the  three  districts  that  maintained  the  institu- 
tion made  a  gift  of  it  to  Joint  synod,  which  gladly  accepted 
the  same,  but  made  no  provision  for  the  extension  of  the 
course.  In  1890;  however,  when  Joint  synod  met  at  Mil- 
waukee, one  of  its  first  acts  was  the  passage  of  a  resolution 
to  arrange  a  full  six  years'  course  in  the  Milwaukee  institu- 
tion. In  accordance  with  this  resolution,  a  new  class  was 
formed  the  same  year,  and  Rev.  C.  Ross  was  chosen  professor 
of  Hebrew. 

In  the  fall  of  1891  the  sixth  class  was  organized  and 
Mr.  E.  G.  Sihler,  Ph.  D.  (J.  H.  U.)  joined  the  faculty  as  pro- 
fessor of  classics  and  history.  Thus  Concordia  college  be- 
came a  full-grade  collegiate  institution,  and  the  graduating 
class  of  1891-92  was  the  first  to  conclude  its  studies  at  the 
■Concordia. 

In  March,  1892,  Dr.  E.  G.  Sihler  resigned  his  position, 
h.Mving  assumed  a  professorship  in  the  university  of  the  city 
of  New  York.  The  vacancy-  was  filled  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
Gottlieb  Kroening,  professor  of  classics  in  Concordia  seminary, 
Springfield,  111. 

It  may  be  added  that  in  1887  a  third  dormitory  was 
erected,  an  annex  to  which  was  completed  in  1891.  Of  the 
Hve  new  residences  belonging  to  the  institution  two  were 
ijuilt  in  1883,  one  in  1885  and  two  in  1891. 

G.  W.  Mueller. 


CATHOLIC  EDUCATION  IN  WISCONSIN, 


Catholic  Schools  and  Institutions. 


tThP  following  account  of  Catholic  schools  and  institutions  was  kindly  furnished 
lis  book  by  Right  Rev.  Mgr.  August  Zeininger.] 

A. — SCHOOLS. 

In  placing  their  schools  beside  those  of  the  state,  and 
allowing  both  to  appear  in  friendly  array,  the  Catholics  do 
not  consider  this  union  strange.  The  purpose  of  both  is 
the  same — the  advancement  of  knowledge.  If  the  Catholics 
have  erected  their  own  schools,  it  is  not  because  they  are 
enemies  of  universal  education,  but  because  they  would  add 
religion  to  the  branches  taught  in  public  schools;  they  will 
have  religion  be  the  soul  that  pervades  and  sustains  secular 
instruction. 

If  the  end  of  both  systems  is  the  same,  the  results 
achieved  by  the  Catholic  schools  make  good  their  claim  to 
rank  as  peers  of  their  sister  schools  erected  b}'  the  state. 
They  do  not  fear  unbiased  scrutiny  ;  they  have  testimonies 
of  their  worth  from  friends  of  the  public  schools.  To  a  cer- 
tain extent  the  advantage  is  theirs.  Their  teachers  are  for 
the  greater  part  members  of  a  religious  community  who 
have  assumed  the  profession  of  teaching  not  to  gain  a  liveli- 
liood,  but  make  it  their  life's  task  because  they  consider  it 
meritorious  and  are  convinced  of  a  hereafter  where  they 
expect  their  reward.  They  are  the  heirs  of  that  faith  and 
spirit  which  has  changed  the  swamps  and  forests  of  Europe 
into  iiighways  and  abodes  of  a  flourishing  civilization,  and 
gave  the  first  explorers  and  forerunners  of  civilization  to  this 
country.  Of  their  work  in  Wisconsin  we  can  present  but  a 
ver^'^  brief  summary  in  the  shape  of  figures. 

The  erection  of  the  first  Catholic  schools  dates  back  to 
the  time  when  Wisconsin  was  still  a  territory;  they  grew  and 
strengthened  with  the  infant  state.  At  present,  there  are  in 
the  three  dioceses  into  which  Wisconsin  is  divided,  279  pa- 
rochial schools.  Of  these  140  are  in  the  archdiocese  of  Mil- 
waukee, 77  in  the  diocese  of  Green  Bay,  and  62  in  ihe  dio- 
cese of  La  Crosse.  These  schools  are  attended  by  44,669 
children;  23,939  children  in  the  archdiocese  of  Milwaukee, 

660 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  661 

being  nine-tenths  of  all  its  Catholic  children;  12,200  chil- 
dren in  the  diocese  of  Green  Bay,  and  8,530  children  in  the 
diocese  of  La  Crosse. 

The  branches  taught  in  the  Catholic  schools  are  essen- 
tially those  of  the  public  schools.  There  is  not  a  Catholic 
school  in  Wisconsin  in  which  English  is  not  taught.  Even 
in  parishes  composed  entirely  of  those  whose  mother-tongue 
is  not  the  English,  the  latter  language  predominates  in 
school.  In  the  majority  of  these,  English  is  the  only  lan- 
guage heard,  excepting  the  instruction  in  religion  and  in  the 
mother-tongue.  A  number  divide  the  time  equally  between 
English  and  the  tongue  spoken  by  the  parents  of  the  chil- 
dren; the  time  devoted  by  the  others  to  English  and  branches 
taught  in  that  language  ranges  between  two-thirds  and  nine- 
teen-twentieths  of  all  school  hours.  These  figures  and  facts 
are  based  on  official  reports  and  hence  are  absolutely  correct. 

B. — HIGHER   INSTITUTIONS. 

The  following  are  among  the  leading  Catholic  higher 
institutions  in  the  archdiocese  of  Milwaukee : 


Marquette  College. 


This  is  a  Catholic  educational  institution  for  day  schol- 
ars under  the  direction  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
in  the  city  of  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  U.  S.  A.  It  took  its 
name  from  Marquette,  the  French  priest,  the  Jesuit  pioneer 
missionary,  the  discoverer  of  the  Mississippi,  one  of  the  first 
white  men  to  set  foot  on  Wisconsin  soil  to  bring  the  Cross 
and  the  Gospel  to  the  home  of  the  red  man.  Its  buildings 
are  few;  its  endowment,  debt;  its  hopes,  in  the  patience, 
perseverance  and  noble  purpose  of  its  laborers,  and  in  the 
goodwill  of  its  friends;  with  these  equipments  it  has  already 
accomplished  much  in  the  cause  of  higher  education,  in 
which  it  ranks  among  the  first  in  the  Northwest. 

The  establishment  of  the  college  was  long  projected  before 
:actually  begun.  While  in  Europe,  in  1848,  in  the  interest  of 
his  diocese,  Rt.  Rev.  John  Martin  Henni,  Catholic  bishop  of 
Milwaukee,  was  offered  in  trust  a  sum  of  $16,000  by 
Chevalier  J.  G.  De  Boeye,  of  Antwerp,  Belgium,  to  establish 
in  his  diocese  an  institution  under  the  direction  of  the  Jesuits. 
This  was  thenceforth  his  favorite  scheme,  for  the  realization 
of  which  he  prayed  daily  and  made  effort  on  every  occa- 
sion that  presented  itself.  In  1853,  two  Jesuit  Fathers,  Rev. 
J.  L,  Gleizal  and  Rev.  I.  J.  Boudreaux,  the  latter  afterwards 
president  of  Marquette  college,  preached  a  mission  in  St. 
John's  cathedral,  Milwaukee,  at  which  time  they  were  in- 
formed by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of  his  design  and  invited  to 
take  steps  to  carry  it  into  execution.  As  the  opening  of  a 
college  then  would  have  been  premature,  the  charge  of  St. 
Gall's  church  and  congregation  was  oflFered  as  a  preparatory 
step,  and  accordingly  assumed  September  12th,  1855,  by 
Rev.  P.  J.  DeSmet,  the  celebrated  Indian  missionary,  and 
Rev.  F.  X.  DeCoen,  in  the  name  of  the  Society  of  Jesus.  In 
•September,  1857, 

ST.  ALOYSIUS'  ACADEMY, 

-as  the  arched  sign  over  the  gate  read,  was  begun,  and  a  truly 
«mall  beginning  it  was.  The  one-story  frame  building, 
which  had  hitherto  served  as  a  pastoral  residence,  was  moved 
to  an  adjoining  lot,  raised  ten  feet  for  the  erection  of  a  story 
underneath,  and  thus  metamorphosed  and  placed  under  the 


662 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  663 

<3irection  of  Rev.  S.  P.  Lalumiere,  struggled  on  its  mission 
until  1864,  when  it  was  absorbed  and  superseded  by  the 
more  pretentious  St.  Gall's  academy.  These  humble  be- 
ginnings prospered  and  did  good  educational  work. 

But  time  and  the  growth  of  the  city  were  demanding 
their  development  into  a  college.  In  1855  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  had  purchased  property  on  the  "  Hill "  with  the  sum 
donated  by  Mr.  De  Boeye  and  transferred  it  to  the  Jesuits. 
These  Fathers,  in  1863,  bought  adjacent  property  sufficient 
to  give  them  the  ownership  of  the  entire  block  bounded  by 
State  and  Prairie,  Tenth  and  Eleventh  streets.  In  1864  a 
charter  for  Marquette  college  was  obtained  from  the  legisla- 
ture, granting  powers  "  to  confer  such  literary  honors  and  de- 
grees as  the  trustees  may  deem  proper  ;"  and  in  1875  another 
step  was  taken  by  the  erection  of  Holy  Name  church  paro- 
chial school  on  the  new  site.  On  August  15, 1880,  a  throng 
of  people,  in  numbers  and  enthusiasm  exceeding  any  hitherto 
seen  in  Milwaukee,  marched  in  procession  or  crowded  along 
the  streets  to  witness  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  Mar- 
quette college.  As  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  Henni  was  too 
unwell  to  officiate,  the  Most  Rev.  Coadjutor,  Archbishop 
Heiss,  assisted  by  the  clergy  of  the  city,  performed  the  cere- 
mony, while  Hon.  W.  J.  Onahan,  of  Chicago,  delivered  an 
address  in  English,  and  Very  Rev.  L.  Batz,  V.  G.,  one  in 
German.  One  year  later  the  first  of  the  proposed  college 
buildings  was  finished,  blessed  and  opened  for  the  reception 
of  students.  To  introduce  the  applicants  gradually  into  the 
curriculum  generally  prevailing  in  Jesuit  institutions,  only 
the  three  lowest  classes  of  the  course  and  a  preparatory  de- 
partment, numbering  in  all  about  one  hundred  pupils,  were 
begun  the  first  year.  The  steadily  increasing  attendance 
and  advance  of  the  students  necessitated  the  addition  of  a 
higher  class  each  succeeding  term,  until  the  course  had  its 
full  quota  and  the  college  was  enabled  in  June,  '87,  to  grad- 
uate, with  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts,  its  first  class. 

It  has  since  conferred  the  degree  of  A.  B.  on  thirty-three 
young  gentlemen,  and  that  of  A.  M.  on  seven.  It  has 
steadily  increased  in  numbers,  averaging  a  yearly  attendance 
of  over  two  hundred,  and  has  at  present  about  two  hundred 
and  seventy-five  students,  while  its  alumni  and  graduates  are 
already  numerous  in  tiie  city,  working  their  way  to  prom- 
inence in  business  and  the  professions. 

The  faculty,  which  consisted  of  five  members  during  the 
first  year,  has  kept  pace  with  the  development  of  the  college, 


664  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

and  at  present  includes  eighteen  professors.  Unfavorable 
comment  is  occasionally  heard  on  the  frequent  clianges  of 
professors  and  the  absence  of  individuality  in  Jesuit  institu- 
tions. But,  after  subtracting  the  exaggeration  usual  in  criti- 
cism, inquiry  will  prove  that  neither  in  fact  nor  in  theory 
have  the  disadvantages  complained  of  existence.  For  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  Jesuits  are  a  teaching  body,  not  a 
mere  number  of  teaching  individuals,  in  consequence  of 
which  a  change  of  individual  professors  does  not  entail  a 
change  of  method,  with  the  accompanying  disadvantages ; 
while  a  perfectly  systematized  method  leaves  ample  scope  for 
healthy  individuality  in  its  application,  though  it  regulates 
or  excludes  idiosyncrasies.  The  curriculum  of  studies  is  the 
same  as  that  of  other  colleges  in  the  United  States  under  the 
direction  of  the  Jesuits.  It  embraces  two  courses,  the  com- 
mercial and  classical.  The  commercial  course  is  completed 
in  four  years  and  is  calculated  to  impart  a  practical  knowl- 
edge of  those  branches  which  are  requisite  for  business  life. 
The  classical  course  is  more  comprehensive  and  the  main  one. 
It  is  divided  into  two  departments — the  academic,  a  three 
years'  course  of  thorough  training  in  the  rudiments  of  En- 
glish and  the  classics,  arithmetic,  algebra  and  accessory 
branches,  and  the  collegiate,  embracing  three  years  of  classics,, 
English  rhetoric,  oratory  and  literature,  matliematics 
and  sciences,  and  one  year  of  mental  and  moral  philosopliy, 
English  literature,  higher  mathematics  and  sciences.  The 
completion  of  this  course  entitles  the  graduate  to  tlie  degree 
of  baclielor  of  arts  and  fits  him  to  enter  upon  any  career  of 
life.  Thorough  and  systematic  instruction  in  Catholic  doctrine 
is  continued  throughout  both  courses,  while  the  study  of  Ger- 
man and  French  is  optional. 

The  method  is  that  of  the  famous  Ratio  Studiorum  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  adapted  to  present  times  and  circum- 
stances. Models  are  studied  and  imitated;  principles  are 
learned  and  applied;  there  is  prelection, study,  recitation,  fre- 
quent repetition.  But  little  time  is  allowed  during  the  hours- 
at  college  for  study;  this  work  must  be  done  by  tlie  student 
at  home;  in  class  he  must  recite,  listen  to  explanation,  pro- 
pose his  difficulties.  He  is  taught  to  read  that  he  may  be- 
come a  full  man,  write  that  he  may  become  an  exact  man, 
talk  that  he  may  become  a  ready  man.  Tests  of  his  appli- 
cation and  progress  are  frequent,  in  the  daily  recitations ;  the 
occasional  specimens,  private  and  public;  the  quarterly  com- 
petitions, and  semi-annual  examinations ;  and  he  is  spurred 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  665 

Oil  by  awards  of  premiums  and  reports  sent  to  parents.  The 
dullard  and  the  drone  find  this  method  unbearable,  the  ordi- 
nary boy  feels  it  a  demand  on  his  energy,  the  student  derives 
from  it  an  ample  return  for  his  labor  in  the  result — a  thor- 
ough education. 

Some  educators  find  fault  with  the  catechetical  method 
and  laud  the  lecture  system.  The  acquiring  of  knowledge  is  a 
process  of  mental  assimilation  which  is  in  proportion  to  the 
mental  vigor  and  activity  exercised.  Knowledge  is  useful 
only  in  so  far  as  it  can  be  expressed  in  word  or  action.  The 
teacher's  sphere  therefore  is  to  rouse  activity  and  elicit  ex- 
pression. This  is  accomplished  by  the  question  and  answer 
and  by  discussion.  This  is  the  only  method  to  assure  the 
teacher  that  he  is  awakening  thought  in  the  youthful  mind, 
and  that  the  youthful  mind  is  going  through  the  process  of 
healthy  assimilation.  The  recent  reaction  in  favor  of  the 
catechetical  methods  is  a  proof  of  its  excellence  derived  from 
experience;  the  fact  that  the  men  of  deep  and  accurate 
thought  have  been  produced  by  this  method  is  proof  from 
results.  It  is  only  the  mature  and  trained  mind  that  can 
grasp  analytically  and  assimilate  know^ledge  conveyed  in  the 
catch-who-catch-can  lecture  style.  The  lecture  method  is 
indeed  easier  on  the  professor,  for  it  requires  of  him  only 
a  grasp  of  his  subject,  a  clear  head  and  fluent  expression;  it 
is  easier  also  on  the  pupil,  of  whom  it  demands  only  such 
attention  and  application  as  human  nature,  prone  to  indo- 
lence and  giddy  amusement,  may  choose  to  give.  But  the 
drill,  drudgery  I  may  call  it,  of  training,  demands  of  the 
professor  all  the  above  requirements,  and  is  moreover  a 
severe  test  of  his  tact,  patience,  perseverance  and  inventive- 
ness; to  the  pupil  it  applies  the  spur  requisite  to  rouse  up  slug- 
gish human  nature  to  the  energy  of  attention  and  applica- 
tion necessary  to  enable  the  mind  to  grasp  and  assimilate 
knowledge.  Were  the  catechetical  method  more  generally 
adopted,  there  would  be  fewer  men  and  women  whose 
knowledge  seems  to  be  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  the  number  of 
their  years  at  school,  less  superficial  knowledge,  less  conceit 
and  presumption,  more  energy  and  strength  of  character, 
more  solidly  educated,  thinking  people. 

It  will  go  for  the  saying  that  at  Marquette  college  morals 
and  discipline  are  insisted  upon,  and  preserved  about  as  per- 
fectly as  the  shortcomings  and  thoughtlessness  of  youth 
make  possible.  In  a  Catholic  institution,  morals  and  fidelity 
to  the  dictates  of  true  religion    are  about   the  same  thing 


666  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

While  regulations  are  made  and  enforced  to  secure  external 
order  and  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  student,  they 
are  but  auxiliary  to  the  more  important  object  of  securing 
moral,  religious  formation  of  character  and  habit.  As  the 
grace  of  God  is  requisite  to  attain  this  end,  exercises  of 
piety,  the  daily  attendance  at  mass,  the  monthly  reception 
of  the  sacraments,  frequent  religious  instruction,  cultivation 
of  devotions  conformable  to  the  season  of  the  ecclesiastical 
year,  are  given  their  due  place,  and,  instead  of  interfering 
with,  promote  the  fulfillment  of  student  duties.  Cleanliness 
and  good  manners,  in  general,  the  observances  of  good  breed- 
ing, are  inculcated.  The  health  and  comfort  of  the  students 
are  by  no  means  neglected.  Light,  fresh  air  and  exercise, 
the  temperature  and  convenience  of  the  various  apartments, 
and  suitable  changes  of  occupation  are  made  objects  of  spe- 
cial attention. 

In  the  training  and  development  of  young  men,  there 
is  much  that  cannot  be  accomplished,  at  least  practically,  in 
the  class-room,  or  by  private  study.  This  is  attained  by 
means  of  the  various  societies  conducted  by  the  boys  them- 
selves under  the  direction  of  a  member  of  the  faculty. 
Membership  is  optional,  nay,  sometimes  hard  to  secure,  but 
in  general,  few  are  the  boys  who  are  not  enrolled  in  one  or 
several  of  the  associations. 

There  are  many  who  imagine  that  college  life  means 
little  besides  the  learning  and  reciting  of  lessons.  If  they 
were  to  witness  the  working  of  these  associations,  they  would 
recognize  in  college  life  a  real  little  world  adapted  to  the 
youthful  mind  and  disposition,  which  initiates  mildly  and 
gradually  into  the  duties  of  after  life.  All  shades  of  disposi- 
tion, degrees  of  ability,  phases  of  success  and  failure  are 
there  met  with,  but  in  an  atmosphere  more  desirable  than 
frequent  in  after  life  ;  for  youth  is  instinctively  honest,  can- 
did, simple  and  just,  in  consequence  of  which  real  merit  at- 
tains success  and  wins  influence  more  readily  and  surely 
than  patronage.  ^ 

For  recreation  and  physical  development  there  are  the 
various  athletic  associations  and  the  game-room. 

To  foster  piety  and  a  religious  spirit,  there  are  the 
league  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  the  Acolythical  society,  the 
Sodality. 

The  Sodality  was  established  shortly  after  the  opening 
of  the  college  and  has  always  included  a  large  majority  of 
the  students  among  its  members.     The  requisites   for   mem- 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  667 

bership  are  good  behavior,  and  a  spirit  of  Catholic  piety,  es- 
pecially a  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin,  At  the  weekly 
meetings  the  office  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  is  recited 
and  instruction  given ;  once  a  month  the  members  approach 
the  sacraments. 

The  Acolythical  society  was  established  to  contribute  to 
the  solemnity  of  religious  services ;  the  Saint  Cecilia  society, 
to  develop  talent  for  music  and  utilize  it  for  religious  ser- 
vices and  public  entertainments. 

The  library  and  reading-room  association  was  organized 
to  furnish  material  and  cultivate  a  taste  for  useful  reading 
and  a  knowledge  of  books.  Though  of  comparatively  recent 
formation,  it  already  contains  quite  a  large  collection  of 
books  appropriate  to  the  uses  of  the  students,  together  with  a 
choice  selection  of  papers  and  magazines. 

The  Marquette  college  literary  society  was  organized  to 
spur  on  the  literary  efforts  of  the  students.  Tiie  exercises  of 
its  weekly  meetings  consist  of  readings,  declamations,  essays, 
poems,  orations  and  debates  on  literary,  historical,  scientific 
and  general  questions.  Besides  the  practice  in  composition, 
and  the  information  gathered,  the  members  acquire  a  facility 
in  speaking  which  will  serve  them  well  on  many  an  occasion 
in  after  life. 

In  October,  '90,  the  graduates  of  preceding  years  organ- 
ized the  Marquette  college  lyceum.  Membership  is  not 
restricted  to  graduates  of  Marquette,  but  its  requisites  are,  to 
have  received  a  college  degree  or  a  liberal  education,  to  be  a 
practical  Catholic  and  in  good  social  standing.  All  kinds  of 
literary  work  are  embraced  within  its  scope,  the  exercises  of 
the  ordinary  bi-weekly  meetings  being  readings,  declama- 
tions and  papers  on  questions  literary,  historical,  scientific, 
philosophical,  political  (except  questions  of  party  politics), 
followed  by  discussion.  It  endeavors  also  to  hold  occasionally 
public  sessions,  to  which  friends  are  invited.  Its  membership 
is  as  yet  not  large,  but  its  usefulness  is  undoubted  and  its  de- 
velopment prtJmising. 

Marquette  college  is  not  endowed.  Besides  the  original 
donation  of  Mr.  DeBoeye  of  $16,000,  it  has  received  a  number 
of  volumes  for  the  library,  several  paintings,  the  foundation 
of  several  scholarships,  a  donation  of  $1,000  from  a  friend, 
and  a  contribution  of  about  $2,000  from  a  number  of  generous 
friends  and  patrons  of  learning  to  enable  it  to  fit  up  a 
scientific  cabinet.  But  to  pay  off  the  debt  contracted  by  the 
purchase  of  ground,  the  erection  of  buildings,  to  meet  the 


668  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

current  expenses  and  those  entailed  by  improvement  and  de- 
velopment, the  college  is  entirely  dependent  on  the  moderate 
tuition  fee  of  S60  a  year  paid  by  the  students. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  establishment,  career  and 
work  of  Marquette  college.  When  its  foundation  was  first 
projected,  the  noble-souled  Bishop  Henni  desired  that  it 
should  be  named  after  Fere  Marquette,  with  the  hope  that 
his  religious  brethren,  now  two  and  a  half  centuries  after  he 
has  gone  to  his  reward,  may  make  it  a  worthy  monument  to 
his  great  name.  The  Jesuit  fathers  have  borne  in  mind 
their  mission.  They  have  experienced  the  difficulties  in- 
separable from  the  building  up  of  a  new  institution  and,  not 
least,  the  financial  embarrassments  under  which  Catholic  in- 
stitutions must  struggle  ;  but  difficulty  is  their  inheritance. 
In  the  near  future  they  will  transfer  the  college  from  its 
present  location  to  the  more  eligible  site  on  Grand  avenue, 
and,  with  tho  blessing  of  God  and  the  good  will  and  assistance 
of  the  people  of  Milwaukee,  they  will  endeavor  to  make  it  an 
honorable  resting  place  for  the  bones  of  Pere  Marquette,  now 
in  its  possession,  an  ornament  to  the  city  and  a  center  of 
higher  education. 


St.  John's  Institute  for  Deaf  Mutes. 


St.  John's  institute  is  located  at  St.  Francis,  near  Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin.  This  institute  was  established  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1876,  by  the  Rev.  Theodore  Bruener,  and 
formally  oj)ened  May  10, 1876,  the  opening  day  of  the  Centen- 
nial exposition  at  Philadelphia.  The  building  now  occupied 
by  the  deaf  mutes  was  erected  in  the  summer  of  1879,  and  dedi- 
cated in  the  month  of  December  of  the  same  year.  It  is  a  solid, 
three-story  structure,  of  cream  colored  brick  and  pleasing 
style  of  architecture;  heated  by  a  furnace,  w;th  liberal  pro- 
vision for  ventilation.  It  is  surrounded  by  ornamental 
grounds,  woods  and  farming  lands,  and  well  adapted  for  the 
care  of  the  unfortunates  needing  its  protection.  The  insti- 
tute has  since  been  greatly  improved,  will  now  comfortably 
accommodate  eighty  pupils,  and  is  maintained  by  contribu- 
tions and  bequests  of  kind  friends  of  the  poor  deaf  mutes, 
and  a  tuition  fee,  which,  however,  is  so  low  that  it  is  within 
the  reach  of  nearly  everyone  in  need  of  the  advantages 
offered  by  this  humane  institution. 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  661> 

This  being  a  diocesan  establishment,  deaf  mutes  of  the 
archdiocese  of  Milwaukee,  not  able  to  pay  even  this  small 
tuition  fee,  will  be  admitted  on  presenting  a  certificate  testi- 
fying to  their  poverty  and  promising  to  pay  all  they  can 
under  existing  circumstances.  Tliis  certificate  must  be 
signed  by  tlieir  respective  pastors. 

The  methods  of  work  embrace  quite  all  of  those  that 
have  proved  efficient  in  similar  institutions,  and  pupils  are 
taught  not  only  secular  branches,  but  also  instructed  in  the 
truths  of  holy  religion,  so  as  to  be  enabled  to  make  a  living 
in  the  world  and  at  the  same  time  attend  to  their  spiritual 
welfare. 

Rev.  Father  Brueuer,  who  worked  for  the  institute  with 
untiring  zeal,  was  called  to  a  new  field  of  labor  December  29, 
1879,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  Friedl.  This  reverend 
gentleman,  who  had  charge  about  one  year,  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Charles  Fessler.  Father  Fessler  was  at  the  head  of 
the  institute  for  nine  years  and  his  efforts  in  its  behalf 
during  all  this  time  were  unremitting. 

The  majority  of  the  inmates  being  the  children  of  poor 
parents,  and  donations  for  this  noble  cause  so  very  scarce,  it 
seemed  at  one  time  that  the  institute  must  be  closed.  The 
present  rector  of  the  Catholic  normal  school  and  Pio  Nono 
college.  Rev.  M.  M.  Gerend,  was  appointed  protector  of  St. 
John's  institute  August  15,  1889,  by  the  Most  Rev.  M.  Heiss, 
ot  blessed  memory.  Father  Gerend,  in  order  to  place  the 
institute  on  a  solid  basis  and  rid  it  for  all  time  to  come,  if 
possible,  from  financial  embarrassment,  requested  the  Most 
Rev.  Archbishop  to  approve  of  the  building  of  spacious  work- 
shops for  the  manufacture  of  church  furniture  (altars,  con- 
fessionals, baptismal-fonts,  stations,  statues,  pulpits,  and  all 
kinds  of  cabinet  and  carved  work  used  in  churches).  This 
request  the  archbishop  cheerfully  granted. 

The  shops  were  at  once  erected — February,  1890 — and 
well  furnished  with  all  the  necessary  machinery,  and  at  the 
present  the  institute  can  boast  of  having  the  best  plant  of  its 
kind  in  the  Northwest.  Orders  come  in  from  every  side,  and 
^20,000  to  §30,000  worth  of  work  is  turned  out  annually.  The 
institute  resorted  to  the  manufacture  of  church  furniture  for 
two  reasons  :  In  the  first  place,  because  this  industry  com- 
bines many  trades,  such  as  carving,  cabinet-making,  carpen- 
tering, painting,  decorating,  gilding,  drawing,  designing, etc., 
and  thus  gives  every  pupil  ample  opportunity  to  fit  himself 
to  compete  with  his  fellow-man  in  making  an  honest  living 


670  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN  WISCONSIN. 

after  he  leaves  the  school.  In  the  second  place,  because  it 
brings  to  the  institute  a  class  of  patrons  who  would  naturally 
prefer  to  purchase  from  an  establishment  having  so  laudable 
an  object. 

At  present  the  institute  has  three  departments,  viz. : 
school,  industrial  and  domestic. 

1.  The  school  department,  in  which  pupils  are  taught 
reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geographj',  catechism,  Bible 
history,  etc.,  is  under  the  control  of  competent  teachers. 
Prof.  L.  W.  Mihm,  who  has  been  connected  with  the  insti- 
tute for  thirteen  years,  has  charge  of  the  boys,  and  Sisters  of 
St.  Francis  instruct  the  girls. 

2.  The"  industrial  department,  where  the  boys  are 
taught  various  trades,  is  superintended  by  Mr.  E.  Brielmaier, 
who  has  established  a  reputation  as  an  architect  and  altar- 
builder  throughout  the  Northwest. 

3.  The  domestic  department,  in  which  girls  perform  tho 
usual  household  duties  and  learn  baking,  cooking,  sewing, 
needle-work,  etc.,  is  under  the  supervision  of  Sisters. 

This  plan,  which  gives  time  for  study,  work,  and  recre- 
ation, develops  the  moral,  intellectual  and  physical  nature 
of  the  inmates,  and  prepares  these  poor,  unfortunate  beings, 
who  would  otherwise  be  a  burden  to  the  community,  for  a 
useful  life. 

The  results  accomplished  have  surpassed  even  the  most 
sanguine  expectations.  God  has  apparently  blessed  the 
undertaking. 

Adjoining  the  St.  John's  institute  a  beautiful  chapel  in 
memory  of  the  late  Archbishop  Heiss,  the  earnest  friend  of 
these  unfortunates,  was  built  last  summer. 


Catholic  Normal  School  of  the  Holy  Family,  and 
Pio  Nono  College,  St.  Francis. 


Half  a  mile  south  of  the  city  limits  of  Milwaukee,  and 
within  a  few  rods  of  St.  Francis  station  on  the  Chicago  & 
North-Western  Railroad,  there  rises  a  stately  gothic  edifice  de- 
voted to  the  education  of  Catholic  youth,  and  known  under 
the  name  of  Catholic  normal  school  of  the  Holy  Family  and 
Pio  Nono  college.  The  name  clearly  implies  that  the  fore- 
most object  of  this  institution  is  the  education  of  young  men 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  671 

for  the  profession  of  teaching  in  the  Catholic  parochial 
schools.  Until  now  it  is  the  only  institution  of  its  kind  in 
the  United  States.  It  owes  its  existence  to  the  untiring  ef- 
forts of  the  late  Dr.  Joseph  Salzmann,  a  man  who  united  within 
himself  unusual  talent,  energy,  zeal  and  piety,  and  devoted 
his  life  entirely  to  the  development  and  advancement  of 
Catholic  education  in  the  great  Northwest. 

As  early  as  the  year  1863  Louis  I.,  king  of  Bavaria,  who 
was  an  admirer  of  Dr.  Salzmann  as  well  as  an  ardent  promoter 
of  learning,  art  and  religion,  had  donated  the  sum  of  3,000 
florins  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  Catholic  teachers'  semi- 
nary in  the  United  States.  This  sum  was  increased  by  vari- 
ous contributions,  large  and  small,  collected  through  the  un- 
ceasing efforts  of  Dr.  Salzmann.  With  the  generous  aid  of 
the  German  Catholic  Central  society,  at  whose  annual  meet- 
ings the  zealous  priest  was  present  in  1869  and  1870,  it  was  at 
last  possible  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  imposing 
structure.  This  event  occurred  on  Trinity  Sunday,  June  12, 
1870.  The  Right  Rev.  Joseph  Melcher,  bishop  of  Green  Bay, 
performed  the  ceremon}',  which  was  witnessed  by  thousands  of 
Catholics  from  Milwaukee  and  other  parts  of  the  state.  The 
work  was  rapidly  pushed,  and  on  January  2,1871,  the  build- 
ing was  so  far  completed  that  the  dedicatory  ceremonies 
could  take  place.  The  school  was  opened  the  same  day  with 
an  attendance  of  nineteen  students.  In  the  year  following  a 
commercial  department,  known  as  Pio  Nono  college,  was 
added.  Dr.  Salzmann  was  the  first  president  and  procurator 
of  the  institution.  Owing  to  feeble  health,  brought  on  by 
overwork.  Dr.  Salzmann  was  obliged  to  resign  his  position 
into  the  hands  of  Rev.  Theodore  Bruener,  who,  in  1875,  erected 
St.  John's  institute  for  the  deaf  and  dumb. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  normal  school  the  position 
occupied  by  Dr.  Salzmann  and  Rev.  Theodore  Bruener  has 
been  held  by  Revs.  William  Neu,  John  Friedl,  Charles  Fessler 
and  M.  M.  Gerend.  During  the  twenty-one  years  of  its  existence 
many  improvements  have  been  made  in  the  building,  which 
is  tasteful  in  its  proportions  and  well  adapted  for  its  purpose 
as  a  boarding  school.  All  modern  appliances  of  convenience 
and  safety  are  found  in  the  house.  Water  is  furnished  by 
an  artesian  well.  The  rooms  and  corridors  are  lighted  by 
gas  and  heated  by  steam.  There  are  bath-rooms,  supplied 
with  warm  and  cold  water.  The  halls  and  dormitories  are 
spacious,  well  ventilated  and  comfortable.  Every  necessary 
precaution  has  been    taken    against    fire  or  accident,  and 


672  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION    IN   WISCONSIN. 

everything  is  arranged  to  make  the  students'  sojourn  pleas- 
ant and  homelike.  For  recreation  in  bad  Aveather  a  large 
gymnasium  is  provided,  in  which  turning  poles,  parallel 
bars,  Indian  clubs,  swings,  etc.,  furnish  healthful  and  amus- 
ing exercise.  The  grounds  surrounding  the  college  build- 
ing are  carefully  kept  and  adorned. 

The  good  work  done  by  the  Catholic  normal  school, 
through  its  graduates,  exercises  a  beneficial  influence  upon 
thousands.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  that  it 
was  at  the  Catholic  normal  school  the  "  American  Cecilian 
Society,"  for  the  cultivation  and  promotion  of  true  ecclesiasti- 
cal music,  was  founded  in  1873.  Here,  also,  the  official 
organ  of  the  society,  the  "  Caecilia,"  a  monthly  magazine  is 
issued. 

The  present  staff  of  officers  and  teachers  comprises  the 
following :  Rev.  M.  M.  Gerend,  president,  Rev.  M.  J. 
Lochemes,  prefect  of  studies  and  professor  of  pedagogy, 
history,  literature  and  elocution  ;  Rev.  H.  B.  Ries,  master  of 
discipline  and  professor  of  German,  Latin,  and  drawing ; 
Rev.  H.  T.  Stemper,  professor  of  Christian  doctrine  and  Ger- 
man ;  ChevaHer  John  Singenberger,  professor  of  music  ;  Mr. 
John  Healy,  B.  L.,  professor  natural  science  and  English  ; 
Mr.  T.  D.  Hart,  professor  of  mathematics,  bookkeeping, 
commercial  law  and  penmanship ;  Mr.  John  Hart,  professor 
of  English  and  arithmetic,  preceptor  of  violin. 

The  annual  attendance  of  late  years  averaged  about 
ninety  students.  During  the  present  year  (1892-93)  upwards 
of  a  hundred  students  have  been  enrolled.  On  account  of  the 
steady  growth  of.  the  attendance,  the  question  of  increasing 
the  capacity  of  the  school  building  is  already  seriously  dis- 
cussed. 


The   Provincial  Seminary  of    St.  Francis  of 
Sales  (Salesianum). 


This  ecclesiastical  institution,  whose  object  is  the  remote 
and  immediate  preparation  for  the  priesthood,  now  ranks 
among  the  largest  and  most  prominent  Catholic  seminaries 
in  tlie  United  States. 

Its  beginning  dates  back  to  the  year  1853,  when  two 
zealous  and  learned  priests  of  the  diocese  of  Milwaukee,  Rev. 
Joseph  Salzmann,  D.  D.,   and   Rev.  Michael  Heiss  (subse- 


674  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

queutly  archbishop  of  Milwaukee),  appeared  before  tlieir 
bishop,  the  Right  Rev.  John  Martin  Henni,  and  volunteered 
to  erect  a  seminary  for  the  education  of  priests. 

Their  object  in  undertaking  this  great  and  arduous  work 
was  to  provide  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  thousands  of 
Catholics  scattered  in  the  different  parts  of  this  young  and 
flourishing  state. 

In  1855  the  building  was  begun,  and  on  January  29th, 
1856,  the  feast  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  the  seminary  was 
solemnly  blessed  and  opened  by  the  bishop  of  Milwaukee, 
Right  Rev.  J.  M.  Henni.  In  the  first  scholastic  year  it  num- 
bered twenty-five  students.  The  Very  Rev.  M.  Heiss  was 
appointed  first  rector,  and  Rev.  J.  Salzmann  procurator  of 
the  seminary.  Soon  the  number  of  students  increased  and 
the  good  work  steadily  prospered  despite  the  continual 
financial  troubles  and  embarrassments,  which,  during  the 
first  years  of  its  history,  often  imperiled  the  existence  of  St. 
Francis  seminary. 

When,  in  1868,  Rector  Heiss,  who  for  upwards  of  twelve 
years  had  adorned  the  institution  by  the  renown  of  his  learn- 
ing and  piety,  was  appointed  first  bishop  of  the  new  diocese 
of  La  Crosse,  Very  Rev.  J.  Salzmann  succeeded  him  as  the 
second  rector.  He  held  this  important  ofiice  till  January, 
1874,  when  his  premature  and  much  lamented  death 
inflicted  an  unexpected  loss,  long  felt  by  the  institution 
which  he  had  founded  and  which  mainly  owed  its  success 
and  prosperity  to  his  untiring  energy  and  enlightened  zeal. 
His  worthy  successor,  very  Rev.  Charles  Wapelhorst, 
provided  for  the  increasing  number  of  students,  by  enlarg- 
ing the  original  building  and  adding  a  new  wing,  almost  as 
large  as  the  first  structure,  with  about  ninety  rooms  for 
students  of  the  theological   department.     This  was  in    1875. 

When,  in  1879,  Rector  Wapelhorst  entered  the  order  of 
Saint  Francis,  the  Very  Rev.  Kilian  C.  Flasch,  once  himself 
a  pupil  of  this  seminary,  became  its  able  and  beloved  rector, 
and  after  his  elevation  to  the  episcopal  section  of  La  Crosse 
(1881),  Very  Rev.  A.  Zeininger  was  appointed  his  successor. 
Under  his  efficient  management  several  important  improve- 
ments were  made,  among  them  an  artesian  well  of  more  than 
1,300  feet  in  depth,  furnishing  the  institution  with  an 
abundant  supply  of  very  wholesome  mineral  water. 

In  1887  Rector  Zeininger  was  appointed  chancellor  of 
the  archdiocese  of  Milwaukee,  and  Very  Rev.  Joseph  Rainer 
succeeded  him,  who  is  still  at  the  head  of  St.  Francis  semin- 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  675- 

ary.  Its  present  flourishing  condition  sufficiently  appears 
from  the  continually  increasing  number  of  students.  More 
than  600  priests  who  now  labor  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  in  al- 
most every  state  of  the  Union,  as  also  some  of  our  most  suc- 
cessful and  reverend  bishops,  including  the  present  Arch- 
bishop of  Milwaukee,  Most  Rev.  Frederic  X.  Katzer,  grate- 
fully call  the  Salesianum  their  alma  mater. 

The  situation  of  the  seminary  is  very  picturesque  and 
attractive.  Its  majestic  dome  can  be  seen  from  afar  towering 
above  the  surrounding  woodlands  and  commanding  a  beau- 
tiful and  charming  view  of  Lake  Michigan.  It  has  pleasant 
and  spacious  recreation  grounds,  surrounded,  as  it  is,  by 
grassy  plats  and  shady  woods.  The  education  imparted  in 
the  seminary  embraces  the  study  of  the  classical  branches^ 
philosophy  and  theology. 


St.  Lawrence  College,  Mount  Calvary,  Wis- 
consin.    (Fond  du  Lac  County.) 


This  college,  conducted  by  the  Capuchin  friars  of  the 
province  of  St.  Joseph,  was  founded  in  1861  by  the  Very 
Rev.  Francis  Haas,  O.  M.  Cap.,  who  with  the  Very  Rev. 
Bonaventure  Frey,  0.  M.  Cap.,  had  established  the  first  Cap- 
uchin monastery  in  this  country. 

In  1868  the  college  was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  was  soon 
rebuilt  and  equipped  with  all  modern  improvements. 

The  college  stands  on  an  eminence  of  considerable 
height,  and  commands  a  charming  view  of  the  surrounding 
country.  The  location  is  remarkably  healthy,  and  the 
buildings  can  accommodate  150  students. 

The  institution,  which  is  primarily  intended  as  a  pre- 
paratory seminary  for  the  order,  from  which  the  province 
receives  its  recruits,  was  also  founded  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
structing and  training  young  men  cDnformably  to  Catholic 
principles,  with  a  view  either  to  prepare  them  for  the  holy 
priesthood,  or  to  give  them  a  thorough  education  in  general. 
To  attain  this  end  more  successfully,  the  institution  admits 
only  Catholic  pupils  of  a  good  moral  character. 

There  are  two  courses  at  the  college — a  classical  and  a 
commercial  course.     The  classical  course  embraces  a  period 


C76  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

of  six  years,  the  commercial  of  three  years.  The  following 
branches  are  taught: 

Religion,  Latin,  Greek,  English,  German,  French, 
rhetoric,  poetry,  literature,  history,  geography,  piiysical 
geography,  bookkeeping,  commercial  law,  arithmetic,  mathe- 
matics, natural  philosophy,  drawing,  penmanship,  instru- 
mental and  vocal  music. 

The  various  branches  are  taught  by  members  of  tlie 
community,  except  bookkeeping  and  music.  Since  the 
members  of  the  faculty  receive  no  salary,  but  give  their  ser- 
vices gratis,  the  college  is  able  to  receive  boarders  at  a  very 
low  rate,  the  average  cost  being  only  §140  per  annum.  This 
circumstance  affords  parents  of  less  means  an  opportunity  of 
giving  their  sons  a  higher  education  and  a  sound  Catholic 
training  at  a  very  moderate  expense. 

The  number  of  attending  pupils  (boarders)  varies  from 
100  to  120  annually. 

The  school  year  begins  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  Sep- 
tember, and  ends  the  last  week  in  June. 


St.  Catherine's  Academy,  Racine,  Wisconsin. 


HISTORY    OF    FOUNDATION. 

This  institution  for  the  education  of  Catholic  young 
ladies  was  founded  in  1862  by  Mother  M.  Benedicta  Bauer 
and  Sister  M.  Thomasina  Guiker  of  Ratisbonne,  Bavaria. 
They  were  members  of  the  Dominican  community  of  the 
"  Convent  of  Holy  Cross,"  founded  in  Ratisbonne  in  the 
year  1237,  only  sixteen  years  after  the  death  of  the  illus- 
trious founder  of  the  order,  St.  Dominic. 

Mother  Benedicta  had  been  prioress  of  this  convent  for 
a  number  of  years,  but  wishing  to  undertake  missionar}^ 
labor  in  America,  she,  with  Mother  Thomasina,  by  permis- 
sion of  their  superiors  and  ordinary,  Bishop  Ignatius  Sen- 
estr3%  left  Ratisbonne  September  22,  1858,  and  came  to 
Williamsburg,  N.  Y.,  where  Mother  Benedicta  had  a  few^ 
years  previously,  while  superior  of  the  convent  of  Holy 
Cross,  established  a  mother  house,  which  has  grown  to  be  a 
very  prosperous  community.  They  remained  here  some 
months,  and  after  visiting  their  co-religionists  at  Somerset, 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  677 

Ohio,  accepted  the  invitation  of  Bishop  Henni,  to  estabhsh 
a  mother  house  in  the  diocese,  now  archdiocese,  of  Mil- 
waukee. 

They  were  sent  to  Green  Bay  in  1861,  where  they  pur- 
chased two  lots  now  occupied  by  the  cathedral  and  episcopal 
residence.  They  brought  with  them  two  postulants,  who  were 
received  into  the  order,  one  of  these  being  the  present 
superioress,  Mother  M.  Hyacintha. 

In  Green  Bay  they  took  charge  of  St.  Mary's  parochial 
school  and  conducted  a  small  select  school  and  music  class. 
Finding  the  future  prospects  of  Green  Bay  rather  discour- 
aging, Bishop  Henni  advised  the  Sisters,  who  had  mean- 
while increased  their  number  to  six,  to  locate  at  Racine, 
where  the  now  flourishing  community  has  been  ever  since. 

At  Racine  they  took  charge  of  St.  Patrick's,  St.  Joseph's 
and  afterwards  St.  Mary's  parochial  schools.  For  a  short 
time  the  little  community  had  a  home  in  a  private  dwelling 
house  opposite  St.  Patrick's  church,  until  they  succeeded  in 
obtaining  four  lots  and  a  two-story  brick  building  on  Twelfth 
street,  south  side. 

In  the  spring  of  1864  an  addition  thirty-three  by 
seventy  feet  was  erected,  running  west  from  first  building. 
It  w^as  built  of  brick  and  had  four  stories,  including  basement. 
The  young  Sisters,  among  them  the  present  assistant.  Sister 
M.  Cecilia,  did  all  of  the  lathing  in  this  wing  to  lessen  the 
expenses.     A  chapel  Avas  fitted  up  on  the  fourth  floor. 

In  September,  1864,  a  day  and  boarding  school  was 
opened.  This  was  the  small  beginning  of  the  present  St. 
Catherine's  academy,  whose  growth  has  been  slow,  but  steady 
and  solid. 

In  1865  a  chapel,  running  east  of  first  building,  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $800 ;  it  was  dedicated  on  Rosary  Sunday, 
1865,  in  honor  of  St.  Dominic. 

PERIOD   OF   TRIALS. 

Trials  and  afflictions  threatened  more  than  once  to 
annihilate  the  struggling  community.  Mother  Benedicta 
w^as  taken  sick  in  May,  1865,  with  cancer  of  the  stomach; 
she  lingered  through  this  painful  illness  till  October  13th, 
when  she  breathed  her  last,  fortified  by  the  rites  of*  the 
church,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  She  had  the  happiness  of 
living  long  enough  to  see  the  new  chapel  dedicated. 

She  was  a  woman  of  noble  character,  highly  educated 
and  a  fine  musician,  a  veritable  piano  and  organ  virtuoso. 


"678  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN  WISCONSIN. 

Her  career  in  America  had  been  full  of  hardships  and  pri- 
vations, but  her  indomitable  energy  overcame  all  difficulties 
^nd  she  knew  not  the  word  fail. 

At  the  time  of  her  death  the  convent  property  was  val- 
ued at  about  $8,500.  There  was  considerable  indebtedness 
^nd  little  or  nothing  with  which  to  liquidate  it.  The  com- 
munity now  numbered  twelve  Sisters  and  had  charge  of  St. 
Mary's  and  St.  Patrick's  schools  in  Racine;  St.  Mary's,  Port 
Washington  ;  and  St.  Norbert's,  Roxbury,  Wisconsin. 

After  Mother  Benedicta's  death  Mother  Thomasina  was 
iippointed  prioress  by  Bishop  Henni.  She  was  a  noble  and 
heroic  woman,  willing  to  undergo  any  amount  of  hardship, 
4ind  truly  sacrificed  her  life  for  the  good  cause.  Besides  at- 
tending to  her  onerous  duties  as  prioress,  she  also  had  charge 
•of  St.  Mary's  school,  where  she  had  taught  for  three  years. 
■She  was  seized  with  typhoid  fever,  contracted  while  nursing 
a  young  novice,  who  had  brought  the  disease  into  the  house 
from  the  mission  at  Port  Washington.  This  novice,  Sister 
Petrina,  died  August  15, 1866.  Mother  Thomasina's  strength 
having  been  exhausted  by  her  attendance  on  Sister  Petrina, 
the  fever  at  once  took  a  firm  hold,  and  she  succumbed  to  the 
disease  after  an  illness  of  two  weeks,  at  the  early  age  of  thirty- 
three,  having  been  prioress  only  eleven  months. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  describe  the  condition  of  the  poor 
Sisterhood  at  the  time  of  Mother  Thomasina's  death.  Six 
members  were  down  sick  with  typhoid  fever;  there  were  no 
funds,  consequently  no  credit,  which  can  be  illustrated  by  one 
instance:  A  package  was  brought  by  the  express  to  the  con- 
vent one  day,  but  as  the  charges  of  delivery,  twenty-five  cents, 
■could  not  be  found  in  the  house,  the  parcel  was  taken  back 
to  the  express  office,  until  the  sum  was  procured  for  its  re- 
lease. In  fact,  the  community  was  on  the  point  of  dissolu- 
tion. But  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God  watched  over  the  strug- 
gling community,  and,  sustained  by  His  grace,  they  remained 
faithful  under  their  heavy  crosses  and  trials. 

November  2,  1866,  Sister  M.  Raymunda  Graf,  of  Ratis- 
bonne,  who  had  joined  her  companions,  Mothers  Benedicta 
■and  Thomasina,  in  1863,  died  of  consumption.  Her  death 
was  certainly  hastened  by  grief  at  their  early  death. 

•  Thus  the  founders  of  St.  Catherine's  academy  passed 
-away  within  the  short  space  of  three  years  from  the  time  of 
first  foundation,  and  left  the  young  Sisters  to  their  own  re- 
sources, totally  inexperienced  in  all  business  transactions 
and  the  wiles  of  the  world. 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  679 

During  Mother  Thomasina's  administration  two  and 
one  half  lots  had  been  added  to  the  property. 

Value  of  property  at  the  time  of  her  death,  ^9,600.00 ; 
number  of  Sisters  seventeen. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  NEW  PRIORESS. 

Since  the  required  number  of  Sisters  necessary  for  a 
formal  election  of  prioress  was  lacking,  the  Reverend  Bishop 
Henni  appointed  Sister  M.  Hyacintha  Oberbrunner,  and 
Sister  M.  Cecilia  Fox,  aged  respectively  twenty-five  and 
eighteen  years,  prioress  and  sub-prioress.  They  still  hold 
these  offices,  having  been  formally  elected  in  1881,  and  re- 
elected in  1889,  the  number  of  Sisters  necessary  for  an  elec- 
tion being  complete. 

In  this  time  of  financial  distress,  the  good  and  kind 
Bishop  Henni,  who  had  always  been  a  true  friend  and 
counselor,  recommended  the  struggling  community  to  the 
generosity  of  the  late  King  Louis  I.  of  Bavaria,  who  greatly 
relieved  the  distress  by  liberal  donations. 

But  trials  of  a  more  serious  nature  visited  the  much- 
tried  Sisterhood;  one  of  the  Sisters,  thinking  the  convent  could 
not  flourish  under  the  many  trials  besetting  it,  left,  and 
■caused  the  withdrawal  by  their  parents  and  pastor  of  five 
novices  and  some  promising  postulants.  This  was  a  ter- 
rible blow  to  the  house,  and  the  remaining  few  becoming 
disheartened,  were  again  on  the  point  of  dissolution,  but  the 
all-merciful  God  sent  help  when   all   hope   was  gone. 

On  the  urgent  appeal  of  the  late  Rev.  F.  X.  Weinhart, 
who  had  always  been  a  warm  friend  of  the  much-afflicted 
Sisterhood,  Bishop  Henni  at  once  sent  Rev.  J.  A.  Birk- 
haeUser  to  take  charge  of  the  convent  as  resident  chaplain. 
He  came  in  March,  1868,  and  remained  as  stationary  chap- 
lain until  March,  1870,  when  he  was  appointed  pastor  of 
St.  Mary's  church  ;  he  attended  the  convent,  however,  as  the 
regular  Father  Confessor.  He  is  the  author  of  *'Birk- 
haeuser's  Church  History,"  used  in  most  of  our  seminaries  as 
well  as  in  Great  Britain. 

Rev.  Patrick  Seibold,  an  elderly,  infirm  clergyman,  was 
then  sent  by  Bishop  Henni  as  resident  chaplain,  his  func- 
tions being  to  read  mass  and  administer  Holy  Commun- 
ion to  the  community.  He  led  the  saintly  life  of  a  recluse, 
and  remained  from  March,  1870,  until  April  23,  1884,  when 
he  died  of  old  age  and  infirmity. 


650  CATHOLIC    EDUCATION    IN    WISCONSIN. 

Father  Birkliaeuser  was  appointed  professor  at  St. 
Francis'  seminary  in  1873.  From  there  he  attended  the 
convent  as  regular  confessor,  coming  weekly  in  sunshine 
or  rain  for  eleven  years.  After  Father  Seibold's  death  he 
again  became  resident  chaplain,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
Under  his  direction,  with  Mother  Hyacintha's  wise  and 
prudent  management,  the  precarious  condition  of  the  com- 
munity gradually  improved. 

In  1869,  an  addition,  70x33  feet,  was  built,  extending 
south  of  the  old  building,  at  a  cost  of  about  $4,500.00. 

In  1874  another  addition,  82x33  feet,  was  built,  extend- 
ing south,  in  the  same  direction  as  the  building  of  1869. 
During  the  erection  of  this  addition  an  incident  occurred 
which  caused  a  sudden  interruption,  and  the  building  could 
not  be  completed  until  the  following  spring. 

INVOLVED    IN    A    LAWSUIT. 

About  Juh',  1874,  the  community  received  the  startling 
intelligence  that  the  will  of  the  late  ^lother  Thomasina  was 
to  be  contested  on  the  grounds  of  illegality.  Her  relatives, 
the  Guiker  family,  in  Bavaria,  laid  claim  to  the  convent 
property,  which  was  held  by  the  community  at  the  time  of 
Mother  Thomasina's  death.  Mother  Thomasina,  ignorant 
of  the  laws  of  the  country,  had  bequeathed  the  property  to 
Sister  M.  Hyacintha  and  Sister  M.  Cecilia,  to  be  held  "  in 
trust "  by  them  for  St.  Catherine's  academy  and  for  no  other 
purpose. 

A  lawsuit  was  brought  by  these  relatives  against  the 
communit}'^,  and  in  two  instances,  in  the  circuit  and  the 
supreme  courts,  was  decided  in  favor  of  the  plaintiffs,  on  the 
ground  that  Sisters  M.  Hyacintha  and  Cecilia  could  not 
hold  the  property  "  in  trust "  for  St.  Catherine's  academy,  as 
this  institution  had  never  been  incorporated  ;  consequently 
it  was  not  known  .as  a  corporate  body,  and  no  property  could 
be  held  or  willed  "  in  trust "  for  the  same,  as  worded  in 
Mother  Thomasina's  will,  which  had  been  drawn  up  by  an 
inexperienced  attorney. 

After  the  two  decisions  against  the  defendants,  they  de- 
cided to  engage  Messrs.  Fish  and  Lee  instead  of  Messrs. 
Dyer  and  Dixon,  ex-chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  who 
had  heretofore  conducted  the  suit.  Messrs.  Fish  and  Lee 
asked  for  a  new  trial,  taking  up  the  case  on  a  different  basis. 
They  alleged  that  as  the  property  had  accumulated  and  in- 
creased in  value  by  the  joint  labors  of  the   entire   commu- 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION    IN    WISCONSIN.  681 

nity,  Mother  Tliomasina,  not  aware  of  tlie  fact,  had  no  right, 
consequently,  to  make  any  siicli  will  or  testament.  Against 
this  charge  the  opposing  party  saw  they  could  lay  no  legal 
claim,  and  therefore  the  day  on  which  the  case  was  to  be 
tried  offered  to  settle,  which  offer  was  accepted  by  the  com- 
munity. 

The  Sisters  had  on  several  previous  occasions  offered,  to 
compromise  with  the  Guiker  party  for  $1,500.00,  but  they 
would  accept  nothing  short  of  $7,000.00.  Now,  however, 
the  presumptive  heirs  were  glad  to  accept  the  first  offer 
of  $1 ,500.00.  The  Sisters  had  to  pay  the  costs  of  court,  which , 
with  lawyers'  fees  and  settlement,  amounted  to  $4,000.00. 

The  community  being  short  of  funds  at  the  time, 
Messrs.  Fish  and  Lee  at  once  forwarded  tlie  amount  of  set- 
tlement ($1,500.00)  to  Messrs.  Van  Buskirk  and  Ritchie, 
lawyers  for  the  Guiker  family. 

The  lawsuit  lasted  three  years,  a  time  of  probation  and 
anxiety,  yet,  thank  God,  the  trouble  was  borne  by  the  much- 
tried  community  with  true  Christian  resignation,  and  the 
holy  bonds  of  sisterly  affection  were  thereby  much  strength- 
ened. From  this  time  forward,  God's  blessing  visibly 
seemed  to  rest  on  the  convent,  as  the  improvements  made  in 
quick  succession  would  indicate. 

The  old  chapel,  erected  in  1865,  no  longer  adequate  to 
accommodate  the  fast  increasing  number  of  Sisters,  was  torn 
down  to  make  room  for  a  more  commodious  edifice. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  chapel  was  laid  on  Pente^ 
cost,  June  1,  1884,  and  the  first  services  were  held  on  the 
Patron  Feast  of  St.  Joseph,  April  28,  1885.  It  was  solemnly 
consecrated  by  Archbishop  Heiss,  on  the  16th  of  July,  1885^ 
Feast  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel,  under  the  title  of  "Our 
Lady  of  the  Rosary."  Cost  of  chapel  and  furnishing,  includ- 
ing a  fine  pipe  organ,  $16,000. 

In  1885  an  extensive  wing,  42x95  feet,  was  added  to  the- 
academy,  fitted  up  with  all  modern  improvements  at  a  cost 
of  $21,000. 

Among  the  benefactors  of  the  community  special  men- 
tion must  be  made  of  Rev.  Michael  Bauer,  brother  of  the 
late  Mother  Benedicta  Bauer,  who  was  a  fast  friend  of  the 
house  from  the  time  of  its  foundation  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1879;  and  Father  Inama,  of  Roxbury,  Wiscon- 
sin, who  donated  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  on  which  has 
been  erected  a  commodious  edifice  for  Sisters  and  boarding 
pupils. 


682  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

In  the  summer  of  1891  a  fine  brick  parsonage  was 
erected  for  the  resident  chaplain,  also  property  bought  in 
Wrightstown  and  a  convent  built  in  Sturgeon  Bay. 

GROWTH  OF  COMMUNITY  AND  SCHOOLS  IN  CHARGE. 

The  community  now  numbers  120  Sisters,  and  twelve 
postulants.  They  conduct  all  the  parochial  schools  in 
Racine,  viz.:  St.  Mary's,  St.  Joseph's,  St.  Patrick's,  Holy 
Name  and  St.  Rose's,  also  the  following : 

St.  Norbert's,  Roxbury,  Wis. ;  St.  Barnabas,  Mazomanie, 
Wis. ;  St.  Mary's,  Oshkosh,  Wis. ;  St.  Paul's,  Wrightstown, 
AVis. ;  Holy  Cross,  North  Kaukauna,  Wis. ;  Guardian  Angels, 
Sturgeon  Bay,  Wis. ;  St.  Mary's,  Schleisingerville,  AVis. ;  St. 
Andrew's,  Knowles,  AAls. ;  St.  Mary's,  Mineral.  Point,  AVis.; 
St.  Louis,  Caledonia,  AVis. ;  Holy  Cross,  Holy  Coss,  AVis.  ; 
St.  Mary's,  Belgium,  AA^is.,  and  others  in  Michigan  and  Iowa. 

ST.  Catherine's  academy,  racine,  Wisconsin. 

The  mother  house  ^nd  novitiate  are  also  located  here 
and  were  affiliated  to  the  "  Third  order  of  St.  Dominic  "  by 
letter  of  the  late  Master  General  Joseph  Maria  Sanvieto, 
July  12,  1877. 

The  limited  accommodations  of  S.t.  Catherine's  academy 
in  the  early  years  of  its  struggle  for  existence  necessarily 
limited  its  educational  scope,  but  with  the  growth  of  the 
community  the  academy  has  also  developed  and  done  good, 
solid  work. 

The  addition  of  the  extensive  wing,  erected  in  1885,  in- 
creased the  accommodations  for  boarders.  The  academy 
now  has  all  the  modern  improvements ;  it  is  heated  by  steam, 
well  furnished  with  bath,  and  lighted  by  gas. 

The  institution  is  situated  in  the  most  beautiful  part  of 
Racine,  which,  on  account  of  its  delightful,  almost  peninsular 
location,  is  called  the  Belle  city.  It  has  pleasant  and  ex- 
tensive recreation  grounds  with  a  view  of  Lake  Michigan, 
into  which  the  city  extends  for  a  distance  of  seven  miles. 

lowest   DEATH    RATE. 

The  delightful  climate  of  Racine  is  well  known  to 
seekers  of  a  health  resort,  and  medical  statistics  show  that 
Racine  has  the  lowest  death  rate  of  any  city  of  like  popula- 
tion in  the  Union,  making  it  a  most  healthful  location  for 
an  academy.  It  is  easy  of  access,  as  the  electric  railways  from 
all  depots  pass  the  institution. 


€ATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  683 

AIM   OF   THE   INSTITUTION. 

In  1874  St.  Catherine's  academy  was  chartered  with  full 
powers  for  conferring  degrees.  Its  aim  is  to  give  a 
thoroughly  solid  education,  fitting  young  ladies  for  any 
position  in  life,  and  above  all  for  true  Christian  womanhood. 
Education  in  the  hands  of  a  truly  Christian  woman,  is  a 
sceptre  that  rules  the  greatest  dominion  on  earth.  Without 
Christianity  education  proves  a  siren  to  thousands,  alluring 
them  on  to  certain  destruction. 

*'  Ceaseless  growth  toward  God,  this  is  the  ideal ;  this  is 
the  law  of  human  life  proposed  and  sanctioned  alike  by  re- 
ligion, philosophy,  and  poetry.  '  Dulcissima  vita  sentire  in 
dies  se  fieri  meliorem.'  "* 

This  ceaseless  growth  toward  God  has  ever  been  the  aim 
of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Dominic,  faculty  of  St.  Catherine's  acad- 
emy, in  educating  the  young  ladies  under  their  charge. 

The  educational  sphere  of  St.  Catherine's  academy  may 
be  limited  and  hampered  by  social  and  religious  environ- 
ment, but  is  like  a  circle  in  the  ocean,  steadily  and  surely  in- 
creasing. 

DEPARTMENTS. 

Primary  and  preparatory  departments :  These  depart- 
ments are  designed  for  students  who  are  too  3'oung  to  enter 
the  academic  department. 

Academic  department :  This  course  requires  four  j'^ears ; 
it  embraces  every  advantage  for  the  thorough  and  refined 
education,  suited  to  young  ladies  of  the  present  day,  to  pre- 
pare them  for  any  changes  wrought  by  the  fickleness  of  for- 
tune, so  that,  should  circumstances  demand  it,  they  would  be 
able  to  earn  an  independent  living.  Students  who  complete 
this  course  will  receive  a  diploma. 

Normal  department:  At  the  urgent  request  of  some  of 
our  friends  and  patrons  a  normal  course  was  established  in 
1888,  with  the  most  gratifying  results.  The  religious  orders 
are  taxed  to  their  utmost  to  supply  teachers  for  the  parochial 
schools,  but  withal,  there  still  remains  a  great  dearth  of 
teaching  force,  and  it  is,  therefore,  to  meet  this  want  that  we 
have  established  a  normal  department.  Two  courses  have 
been  adopted: 

I.  An  elementary  course  of  two  years. 

II.  An  advanced  course  of  two  additional  vears. 


Spalding,  "  Education  and  The  Higher  Life.' 


684  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

The  elementary  course  is  to  prepare  teachers  in  the 
shortest  possible  time  for  either  parochial  or  public  school. 

The  advanced  course  is  for  those  who  have  the  leisure 
and  desire  for  a  higher  culture. 

Students  who  complete  the  elementary  course  receive  a 
certificate,  those  completing  the  advanced  course  receive  a 
diploma. 

Although  music  is  an  optional  study,  still  we  would  ad- 
vise its  pursuit  by  every  young  lady  pursuing  either  course, 
as  organists  are  always  in  demand  in  the  parochial  schools; 
for  this  reason  special  attention  will  be  paid  to  church  music. 

Commercial  department :  This  course  requires  but  one 
year,  provided  the  student  is  proficient  in  the  preparatory 
studies.  It  aims  to  prepare  pupils  to  earn  their  living  as  ac- 
countants or  bookkeepers.  Many  young  ladies  are  filling 
these  lucrative  positions. 

English  literature  department:  Some  parents  prefer 
to  have  their  daughters  devote  less  time  to  the  sciences  and 
mathematics  than  to  general  literature,  for  which  purpose 
this  department  has  been  established.  The  time  required 
is  two  years. 

Art  department :  The  work  requires  two  years,  and  in- 
cludes drawing  in  pencil  and  crayon,  pastel,  water  color 
and  oil  painting,   also  use  of  the  air  brush. 

Department  of  music:  Two  courses  have  been  adopted 
in  this  department.  I.  Preparatory:  This  course  is  specially 
adapted  for  those  who  wish  to  become  organists,  but  cannot 
devote  longer  time  to  the  study  of  music.  Special  attention 
is  paid  to  the  Cecilian  church  music,  the  efficient  corps  of 
teachers  having  had  the  advantage  of  a  complete  course  of 
instruction  direct  from  the  fountain  source. 

II.  Graduating:  Upon  completing  this  course  the  pupil 
will  receive  a  diploma. 

Each  course  requires  three  years,  though  pupils  with 
talent  and  close  application  may  complete  the  course  in  a 
shorter  time. 

Societies,  religious:  The  Children  of  Mary,  composed 
of  all  the  pupils  who  have  made  their  first  communion; 
the  Children  of  the  Holy  Angels,  composed  of  the  pupils 
under  twelve  years  of  age;  the  Living  Rosary,  to  which  all 
of  the  pupils  may  belong. 

Literary :  St.  Catherine's,  composed  of  pupils  of  the 
advanced  classes,  no  others  being  eligible  to   membership. 

Music :  St.  Csecilia's,  to  which  all  the  music  pupils  are 
admitted. 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN  .WISCONSIN.  685 

St.  Clara's  Academy,  Sinsinawa  Mound,  Wis- 
consin. 


St.  Clara's  academy,  situated  on  the  southern  slope  of 
Sinsinawa  Mound,  a  beautiful  eminence  in  the  extreme  south- 
western corner  of  Wisconsin,  is  conducted  by  Sisters  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Dominic,  and  was  founded  in  March, 
1847,  incorporated  in  1852  by  Very  Rev.  Samuel  Charles 
Mazzuchelli,  of  the  Order  of  Friars  Preachers. 

Father  Mazzuchelli,  or  "  Father  Samuel  "  as  he  was 
lovingly  called  by  his  people,  who  found  the  long  Italian 
name  difficult  to  pronounce,  was  a  Milanese  of  a  distinguished 
family,  who  left  his  native  city  at  the  age  of  twenty-one, 
leaving  behind  him  riches,  influence,  all  that  could  dazzle  a 
cultured,  highly-trained  youth,  for  the  accomplishment  of 
his  early  boyish  dream  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  the 
savages  of  America.  Spending  several  years  among  the 
tribes  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin  and  Illinois,  he  was  finally 
drawn  to  the  service  of  his  own  race,  whose  needs  were  cer- 
tainly greater  than  those  of  the  Indians ;  and  as  colleague 
and  bosom  friend  of  the  saintly  Bishop  Loras,  first  bishop  of 
Dubuque,  he  traversed  this  broad  region  in  his  Master's  ser- 
vice. Father  Mazzuchelli  was  a  man  of  heroic  mould,  one 
of  those  rare  souls  sent  into  the  world  at  times  as  if  to  show 
what  humanity  can  achieve  when  inspired  by  purest  charity. 
What  he  did  for  the  salvation  of  souls  as  missioner  apostolic 
between  the  years  1828  and  1865,  what  he  did  for  the  tem- 
poral interests  of  this  whole  Northwest  as  jurisconsult,  pro- 
fessor, architect  and  builder,  as  civilizer  and  pacificator  of 
savage  tribes,  sounds  like  exaggeration  when  told  ;  it  will  be 
told  in  the  near  future,  however,  and  the  testimony  is  too 
real  and  too  wide-spread  to  be  disputed. 

His  spirit  was  that  of  an  enlightened  educator,  and  he 
impressed  his  spirit  on  his  last  work,  the  establishment  of 
an  educational  community,  the  congregation  of  Dominican 
Sisters  at  Sinsinawa  Mound,  who  have  moved  from  the  first 
on  the  lines  laid  down  by  Father  Mazzuchelli.  Their 
marked  and  steady  success  in  the  matter  of  making  the 
higher  education  of  girls  solid,  progressive  and  practical  as 
well  as  elegant,  is  the  result  of  the  intellectual  training  and 
habits  of  thought,  rigidly  insisted  upon  by  Father  Mazzu- 


686  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN    WISCONSIN. 

chelli  in  the  infancy  of  this  rehgious  community,  of  which 
lie  was  literally  the  teacher  as  well  as  spiritual  guide. 

He  strove  to  advance  the  higher  education  of  young 
men  also,  by  himself  building  and  endowing  a  college,  an 
imposing  structure  for  those  early  days,  which  is  now 
occupied  as  part  of  the  convent  by  the  Sisters.  After  putting 
affairs  on  a  solid  and  prosperous  basis  he  made  the  college 
over  to  the  Dominican  Fathers  from  Kentucky,  and  turned 
his  energies  to  building  churches,  founding  parochial  schools 
before  the  first  stone  was  laid  in  his  churches,  however ;  and 
in  addition  to  all  these  to  promote  the  growth  of  the  little 
community  of  Dominican  nuns  whom  he  had  just  established, 
and  who,  like  their  founder,  seemed  to  be  ubiquitous,  from 
the  number  of  parochial  schools  they  were  obliged  to 
conduct. 

In  1852  he  removed  the  Sisters  to  Benton,  Wisconsin, 
where  he  had  already  built  the  church  now  standing,  moved 
the  old  church  across  the  road,  and  founded  St.  Clara's  acad- 
emy, which  was  incorporated  in  that  year,  1852.  And  here 
were  educated  some  of  the  noblest,  loveliest  and  most  influ- 
ential women  whom  this  country  is  blessed  with,  women 
who  as  wives  and  mothers  have  moulded  in  great  part  the 
destinies  of  this  Northwest.  Could  the  record  of  these  past 
graduates  of  St.  Clara's  be  written,  it  would  form  a  brilliant 
and  instructive  page  in  the  educational  history  of  Wis- 
consin. 

In  1867,  St.  Clara's  academy  was  again  transferred  to 
Sinsinawa  Mound.  The  Dominican  Fathers  having  decided 
to  close  the  college,  and,  having  sold  the  property,  the  Sisters 
succeeded  in  purchasing  it ;  and,  as  if  Father  Mazzuchelli 
himself  guided  the  transagtion,  the  beautiful  mound  which 
his  prophetic  eye  had  early  marked  out  for  religion  and 
science,  which  he  had  secured  for  God's  service  at  such  im- 
mense exertions  of  body  and  soul  as  only  his  kindred  souls 
knew,  was  still  a  Dominican  inheritance,  falling  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  had  imbibed  his  spirit,  who  had  been 
privileged  to  behold  most  clearly  the  heroic  sanctity  and 
enlightened  zeal  for  the  improvement  of  humanity  pos- 
sessed b}'^  this  great  man. 

The  site  of  Sinsinawa  is  more  suitable  than  Benton  for 
educational  purposes,  which  is  the  aim  exclusively  of  this 
institution,  and  its  rare  healthfulness,  in  addition  to  its 
picturesque  beauty,  shows  the  wisdom  of  those  who  dictated 
the  change.     The  Sinsinawa  Mound  itself,  or  the  "  Mound," 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN    WISCONSIN.  687 

as  old  settlers  delight  to  call  it,  is  the  most  beautiful  of  that 
remarkable  line  of  bills  running  from  east  to  west  across 
Southern  Wisconsin,  too  isolated  to  be  considered  a  range, 
yet  all  possessing  some  common  connection.  The  theory  of 
the  lamented  Senator  Carpenter,  as  given  in  his  (Jeology  of 
Wisconsin,  offers  the  only  satisfactory  solution  as  to  the 
cause  of  these  remarkable  conformations.  Sinsinawa  Mound 
itself  is  a  truncated  cone,  forming  the  "  cap  "  or  termination 
of  a  broad  mount  whose  base  is  at  least  twelve  miles  in 
diameter,  and  whose  ascent  is  so  gentle  that  it  is  hardly  per- 
ceptible until  it  reaches  a  point  about  300  feet  from  the  sum- 
mit, at  which  point  stand  the  academy  buildings,  sheltored 
thus  from  the  sweeping  north  winds,  j'et  favored  with  the 
freshness  of  the  hill  atmosphere  in  the  fiercest  summer  heat. 
Behind  the  academy  rises  suddenly  the  smooth  round  sum- 
mit of  the  mound  proper,  capped  by  an  outlying  mass  of 
Niagara  limestone,  which,  disposed  in  parallel  beds,  appears 
like  colossal  masonry.  The  exceeding  beauty  of  the  mound 
is  too  well  known  to  need  description. 

Nature  has  done  so  much  for  St.  Clara  that  art  needed 
only  to  lend  itself  to  preserving  the  native  growth  of  forest, 
instead  of  creating  beautiful  scenery.  A  stroll  "around  the 
mound  "  by  a  circular  avenue  arched  by  a  continuous  belt 
of  oaks,  is  a  memory  that  a  visitor  carries  with  him  forever 
if  he  finds  delight  in  nature.  The  height  of  the  buildings 
above  the  Mississippi,  while  giving  no  impression  of  a  hill 
to  be  climbed,  secures  immunity  from  all  miasmatic  influ- 
ences, and  this  is  a  great  factor  towards  making  Sinsinawa 
Mound  so  remarkable  as  a  health  resort.  This  is  consum- 
mated by  the  perfect  system  of  sewerage,  made  possible  by 
the  simple  yet  unique  plan  of  waterworks.  This  plan  is  at- 
tracting much  attention  from  the  perfection  of  its  results, 
most  simple,  most  secure,  and  never  failing.  An  artesian 
well,  sunk  close  by  the  steam  works,  yields  a  steady,  abun- 
dant supply  of  purest  water  for  all  purposes ;  this  is  forced 
by  a  steam  pump  in  a  straight  line  up  the  hill,  to  a  reser- 
voir on  the  flat  summit  of  the  mound,  not  built  as  is  usual, 
but  hewn  out  of  the  living  rock ;  nothing  short  of  an  earth- 
quake can  ever  burst  the  walls  of  this  reservoir,  therefore, 
and  the  freedom  from  the  usual  anxiety  on  this  score,  is  not 
the  least  agreeable  feature  connected  with  the  plan.  From 
this  reservoir  the  water,  b}^  the  simple  force  of  its  own  fall, 
is  sent  everywhere  through  the  buildings,  and  as  the  supply 
is  exhaustless,  secures  perfect  sewerage,  an  easy  solution  of  the 


688  CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN. 

problem  now  vexing  sanitary  reformers.  This  arrangement 
also  makes  it  easy  to  supply  the  fountains  throughout  the 
grounds. 

Through  the  generosity  and  public  spirit  of  the  citizens 
of  Dubuque  and  of  Sinsinawa  Mound,  a  fine  causeway  is 
now  being  laid  between  the  above  named  city  and  St. 
Clara's,  which  being  a  genuine  macadamized  road,  will  add 
to  the  facility  of  reaching  the  academy  in  any  weather. 

The  buildings  are  extensive  and  furnished  with  all  mod- 
ern appliances.  The  academy  building,  erected  in  1883,  is  a 
magnificent  structure  in  Byzantine  style,  furnished  with 
every  invention  that  can  promote  improvement  in  mental 
acquisitions  or  health.  More  room  is  called  for,  however,  by 
the  constantly  increasing  needs  of  the  growing  school,  and 
an  addition,  almost  as  spacious  as  the  former,  is  nearly  ready 
for  use  ;  it  will  contain  besides  an  additional  suite  of  music 
rooms,  a  library.  Juniors'  study  hall,  class-rooms,  play- 
rooms, science-rooms,  dormitories  and  a  large  calisthenic 
liall.  A  new  system  of  steam  heating  was  introduced  last 
fall,  superseding  the  old  and  well-tried  one  in  use  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  the  advantage  of  the  change  is  proved  by  the 
fact  that  this  phenomenally  cold  winter  has  not  been  felt  by 
the  pupils  of  8t.  Clara. 

The  estate,  while  affording  ample  space  for  recreation 
in  the  open  air,  gives  the  isolation  from  distractions  and  ex- 
•citements  of  town  life  that  parents  desire  who  would  secure 
solid  and  steady  mental  culture  for  their  daughters. 

The  mother  house  is  also  situated  at  Sinsinawa,  and 
supplies  an  able  corps  of  teachers  for  many  parochial  schools 
throughout  this  country,  from  AVashinglon,  D.  C,  to  Denver. 
The  congregation  shows  marked  adaptability  and  success  in 
parochial  school  work,  as  is  fitting  for  the  members  of  an 
order  founded  for  educational  purposes  only. 

St.  Clara's  academy  is,  of  course,  a  boarding  school,  car- 
ried on  by  an  extended  community  of  teachers.  The  regular 
academic  course  extends  through  five  years,  but  the  ele- 
mentary course,  that  is,  a  thorough  proficiency  in  the  ele- 
mentary English  branches,  is  of  obligation;  it  must  be  com- 
pleted before  entering  upon  the  academic  course.  Pupils  who 
•desire  to  follow  special  studies,  however,  can  do  so,  if  the 
faculty  are  satisfied  by  test  that  these  pupils  are  well 
grounded  in  the  essentials,  otherwise  this  deficiency  must  be 
supplied  before  merely  ornamental  branches  are  entered 
upon. 


CATHOLIC   EDUCATION   IN   WISCONSIN.  689 

The  academic  course  in  English  is  divided  into  five  de- 
partments, the  Christian  doctrine  department,  embracing 
catechism  throughout,  faith  of  our  fathers,  church  history, 
evidences  of  rehgion;  the  mathematics  department,  EngHsh 
hmguage  department,  history  department,  science  depart- 
ment. In  addition  are  the  departments  of  modern  languages, 
music  and  art.  Latin  constitutes  a  course  in  itself  and  is  ob- 
ligatory unless  a  student  is  anxious  to  devote  herself  to  some 
other  language,  but  one  is  of  obligation. 

A  system  of  special  teaching  in  each  department  has 
been  followed  with  decided  advantage,  securing  concentra- 
tion, and  the  best  effort  of  the  most  experienced  educator  for 
beginners  as  well  as  advanced  pupils. 

The  department  of  music,  which  is  a  specialty,  need  not 
be  dwelt  upon;  its  best  testimony  is  in  the  pupils  whom  it 
sends  out. 

In  art  the  aim  is  to  impress  the  student  with  a  respect  for 
true  art,  not  for  the  production  of  pretty  trifles.  The  indi- 
viduality and  intelligent  appreciation  of  true  art  as  evinced 
by  the  students  called  forth,  during  his  visit  to  St.  Clara,  the 
approval  of  no  less  a  critic  than  Signor  L.  Gregori,  the  illus- 
trious Italian  artist. 

The  libraries  are  well  supplied  with  the  best  works,  and 
the  plan  of  instruction  necessitates  constant  and  intelligent 
use  of  the  Ubrary,  which  last,  as  thinking  persons  know,  is  a 
branch  in  itself. 

Societies  exist  for  improvement  in  the  different  depart- 
ments, notably  the  German,  music,  literature  and  history 
societies.  This  all  tends,  under  wise  guidance,  to  teach  the 
young  girl  a  taste  for  good  literature,  and  a  distaste  for  the 
worse  than  worthless  reading  whose  abundance  is  such  a  trial 
to  thoughtful  parents. 

Every  attention  is  paid  to  physical  culture,  the  securing 
of  a  "  sound  mind  in  a  healthy  body." 

The  academy  is  connected  by  telephone  with  all  the 
neighboring  cities. 

The  aim  of  the  religious  order  which  conducts  this 
school  is  purely  educational.  The  order,  instituted  in  1206 
in  France  by  the  great  patriarch,  St.  Dominic  de  Gusman,  is 
the  third  great  branch  of  the  order  of  Preachers,  who,  as 
their  names  implies,  were  founded  to  teach;  and  the  adapta- 
tion of  the  spirit  of  this  great  teaching  order  to  the  capabil- 
ities of  women  by  its  very  aim  called  out  the  wisest  and 
most  vigorous  efforts  from  learned   women  from  the  begin- 


690  CATHOLIC    EDUCATION    IN    WISCONSIN. 

ning  of  the  institute.  So  thorouglily  was  the  principle  of 
intellectual  advancement  understood  that,  at  the  time  of  the 
invention  of  printing,  the  nuns  of  the  Dominican  convent  in 
Florence  carried  on  an  academic  school  which  the  literati 
of  that  cultured  city  held  in  high  honor,  and  the  nuns  them- 
selves worked  their  own  printing  press.  And  when  the 
great  upheavals  of  society  l)rought  destruction  upon  the  in- 
stitutions of  learning,the  nuns,  suffering  as  did  the  other  citi- 
zens, earned  their  bread  by  their  writing  and  printing.  So 
proud  were  even  the  socialists  of  that  day  of  their  learned 
countrywomen,  that,  though  hating  the  religious  communi- 
ties on  principle,  they  spared  the  buildings  of  the  Sisters, 
and  thus  left  them  the  bare  chance  of  supporting  themselves 
by  their  talents.  All  the  pursuits  tending  to  the  intellectual 
advancement  of  women  were  imposed  by  obligation  on  this 
body  of  religious  persons,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  require- 
ments of  a  teaching  order  in  the  only  direction  possible  for 
women.  So  in  this  age  all  things  that  go  to  form  a  solid  and 
elegant  intellectual  training  for  women  are,  by  the  very 
object  and  aim  of  their  institute,  obligatory  on  the  Domini- 
can Sisters.  Each  order  has  its  distinctive  spirit,  in  obedi- 
ence to  which  it  is  most  readily  developed — this  is  the  Do- 
minican spirit.  The  aim  of  the  institution,  therefore, 
founded  for  a  single  purpose,  has  concentrated  the  energies- 
of  its  members  upon  the  accomplishment  of  that  purpose. 
The  young  girl  is  trained  to  believe  that  she  owes  a  debt  to 
God,  to  her  own  soul,  and  to  the  world  wherein  she  is  a 
worker;  to  believe  that  education  is  but  a  means  to  this  end, 
and  so  that  this  education  does  not  end  on  the  day  when  she 
receives  her  hard-earned  diploma,  but  continues  as  long  as 
there  is  anything  to  be  learned  that,  through  her,  can  work 
good  to  her  fellow  creatures ;  that  modesty,  and  gentleness, 
and  industry,  and  all  womanly  gifts  are  not  incompatible 
with  the  highest  intellectual  attainments,  but  that  home 
should  he  dowered  with  her  best  gifts,  not  with  what  can 
be  spared  after  the  world  is  satisfied.  That  this  is  not  too 
high  or  exacting  a  standard,  the  strong,  beautiful  and  useful 
lives  of  most  of  the  graduates  of  St.  Clara  are  a  living  and 
daily  proof. 


Mary  Mortimer. 


Milwaukee  College. 


It  is  hard  to  think  of  Milwaukee  as  a  httle  village  with 
only  one  school,  but  such  we  find  it  in  1834;  and,  although 
from  this  nucleus  sprang  many  small  schools,  yet  in  1848  we 
find  the  town  still  deplorably  lacking  in  that  most  neces- 
sary acquisition,  educational  institutions. 

It  was  in  the  year  1848  when  a  meeting  was  called  to 
consider  this  question,  and  to  take  steps  towards  the  accom- 
modation for  the  growing  youth  of  the  city  who  were  to  be- 
come its  mainstay,  and  whose  children  were  to  be  the  citizens 
of  the  future.  Among  those  who  attended  that  memorable 
meeting  were  many  of  Milwaukee's  most  prominent  citizens. 

They  talked  the  matter  over,  viewing  it  from  all  sides ; 
all  agreed  that  the  schools  were  totally  inadequate,  especially 
those  for  the  daughters ;  the  girls  must  be  educated,  ignorance 
is  the  vice  of  civilization,  schools  they  must  have  and  schools 
they  should  have ;  and  every  voice  in  that  enthusiastic  assem- 
bly shouted  approval,  believing  in  his  heart  that  means 
would  come  to  further  so  worthy  an  object. 

So  it  began,  our  Milwaukee  college  of  to-day,  and  the 
faith  of  those  men  has  been  rewarded  year  by  year  with  the 
increasing  influence  of  the  beloved  institution  of  their 
foundation. 

"  The  Milwaukee  female  seminary  "  was  opened  Septem- 
ber 14th,  1848,  in  a  two-story  frame  structure  purchased  and 
moved  upon  the  lot,  now  an  alley,  in  the  middle  of  the  block 
on  Oneida  street,  between  Broadway  and  Milwaukee  street, 
and  back  of  the  Free  Congregational  church,  which  stood  upon 
the  site  of  "Engine  house  No.  1,"  on  Broadway,  between 
Mason  and  Oneida  streets,  with  Mrs.  W.  L.  Parsons,  wife  of 
the  pastor  of  the  Free  Congregational  church,  as  principal, 
and  three  teachers  besides. 

Circulars  were  issued  about  the  middle  of  August,  stat- 
ing the  purpose  of  the  school  and  the  curriculum  of  study. 

"  The  object  contemplated  in  this  enterprise  is  to  estal> 
lish  a  permanent  institution  of  high  order  for  the  education 
of  young  ladies.  ****** 
It   will   be   the  design  of  this  institution,  by  a  systematic 


691 


692  MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE, 

course  of  physical,  moral  and  intellectual  discipline,  to  secure 
to  young  ladies  the  formation  of  a  useful  and  accomplished 
character,  fitting  them  not  only  to  adorn  the  higher  circles 
of  society,  but  to  meet  the  varied  and  practical  responsi- 
bilities of  life."  "  The  course  of  instruction  proposed  is  fitted 
to  take  young  misses  from  the  primary  schools  and  conduct 
them  systematically  onward  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
whole  circle  of  science  as  taught  in  similar  institutions." 

Classes  were  arranged  into  preparatory,  junior,  middle 
class  and  senior,  bringing  tuition  fees  of  three,  four,  five  and 
six  dollars,  respectively ;  and  the  studies  embraced  were,  be- 
sides the  "  four  R's  "  and  their  usual  attendants,  trigonom- 
etry, natural  and  mental  philosophy,  logic,  criticism,  evi- 
dences of  Christianity  and  Butler's  Analogy. 

The  boarding  department  was  conducted  by  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Seth  Parsons,  parents  of  the  Rev.  W.  L.  Parsons,  in  the 
east  half  of  the  double  brick  house  still  standing  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Oneida  and  Milwaukee  streets.  Here  the  girls 
were  given  "  parental  supervision  over  the  health,  habits  and 
manners,"  and  here  they  lived  at  an  expense  of  $2  a  week 
for  board,  and  25  cents  a  week  for  washing,  with  the  privi- 
lege of  doing  their  own  washing  if  they  desired. 

For  two  years  Milwaukee  female  seminary  flourished 
and  grew  in  these  poor  quarters,  gradually  growing  stronger 
and  becoming  a  feature  of  the  city,  until  1850,  when  a 
more  convenient  house  was  found  in  the  west  half  of  the 
boarding  house,  and  here  it  is  that  we  first  find  the  names  of 
Catherine  Beecher  and  Mary  Mortimer  connected  with  Mil- 
waukee college. 

Catherine  Beecher  had  for  nearly  twenty  years  past  been 
formulating  a  plan  for  the  education  of  women,  giving  them 
equal  opportunities  with  men,  and  had  been  gathering  con- 
tributions from  Eastern  cities  to  establish  professional  schools 
where  women  might  be  prepared  to  acquire  liberal  profes- 
sions, remunerative  like  those  of  men.  Upon  invitation 
she  visited  Milwaukee  and  set  forth  her  theories  of  schools 
with  such  success  that  Milwaukee  female  seminary,  upon 
removal  to  the  new  quarters,  became  incorporated  under  the 
name  of  "  ^lilwaukee  normal  institute  and  high  school." 

The  new  school  was  one  to  be  proud  of,  and,  looking  back 
over  the  history,  the  citizens  of  Milwaukee  cannot  but  feel 
pride  for  the  list  of  trustees,  including  Messrs.  Increase  A. 
Lapham,  whose  fame  as  a  scientist  has  reached  far  across  the 
waters   of  the   Atlantic,   J.    P.  Greves,    G.  P.  Hewitt,  J.  H. 


MILWAUKEE  COLLEGE.  693 

Tweedy,  A.  Finch,  Jr.,  G.  J.  Fowler,  J.  H.  Van  Dyke,  W.  P. 
Flanders,  W.  L.  Parsons ;  for  the  list  of  teachers,  including 
Mrs.  Parsons,  Mary  Mortimer,  Miss  E.  B.  AVarner,  who  had 
been  a  teacher  in  the  old  frame  building  in  the  Oneida  street 
alley,  and  Mary  J.  Newcomb ;  for  the  list  of  pupils,  which 
numbered  200 ;  and  for  the  guiding  hand  of  Catherine 
Beecher,  which  displayed  itself  in  the  policy  and  the  princi- 
ples of  the  schools. 

In  the  days  of  the  middle  of  the  century,  women's  pro- 
fessions comprised  :  *'  1.  The  care  and  development  of  the 
human  body  in  the  earliest  period  of  life.  2.  Training  of  the 
human  mind.  3.  Care  and  nursing  of  the  sick.  4.  Care  of 
the  home." 

Miss  Beecher  argued  that  as  one  of  these  functions  was 
training  of  the  mind,  every  school  should  have  its  normal 
department ;  that  as  in  newer  settlements  multiplicity  of  re- 
ligious sects  rendered  agreement  and  sympathy  impossible, 
sectarianism  must  be  done  away  with,  every  denomination 
should  be  represented  and  every  creed  tolerated  and  have 
equal  privileges.  Her  economical  plan  was  simple  and  ad- 
vantageous, and  could  these  plans,  at  least  in  purpose  if  not 
in  detail,  have  been  carried  out,  Milwaukee  college  would 
have  stood  beside  Wellesley  and  Smith  colleges  at  the  present 
day. 

So  the  new  corporation  started  out  on  the  plan  of  a  col- 
lege and  an  endowment  of  $25,000  promised,  which  it  unfor- 
tunately never  received.  It  soon  became  apparent,  however, 
that  the  Oneida  street  house  was  too  small,  and  the  desira- 
bility of  a  permanent  home  became  a  necessity,  so  with  $1,675 
on  hand  negotiations  were  begun  for  the  purchase  of  a  build- 
ing site,  trusting,  w'ith  an  inspiring  faith,  in  money  forthwith 
coming  wherewith  to  build  upon  it. 

They  succeeded  in  so  far  that  the  Milwaukee  college  to- 
day owes  to  those  hopeful  founders  her  lot  of  127  feet  on  the 
south  side  of  Juneau  avenue,  and  217  feet  on  the  east  side  of 
Milwaukee  street.  They  paid  for  it  $2,500  and  a  purchaser 
of  to-day  would  not  be  able  to  get  it  for  $70,000. 

How  happy  was  that  normal  institute  and  high  school 
when  in  June,  1852,  they  laid  the  corner-stone  of  their  new 
building ;  with  what  interest  did  they  listen  to  the  address  in 
Plymouth  church  by  Rev.  Z.  M.  Humphrey,  formerly  presi- 
dent of  Amherst  college;  with  what  rejoicing  did  they  occupy 
those  college  halls  in  October,  looking  with  delight  and  par- 
donable vanity  upon  the  Gothic  front,  with  its  pointed  arches 


694  MaWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

and  towering  pinnacles,  reaching  toward  the  sky,  as  if  they 
would  tell  the  world  of  their  faith  and  of  their  foundation. 

The  study  hall  of  the  old  building  is  the  only  part  that 
now  remains  the  same  as  the  original.  It,  with  the  corridors 
and  recitation  rooms  beneath  it,  constituted  the  body  of  the 
building ;  wings  to  the  north  and  south  of  these  were  occupied 
by  recitation  rooms  below  and  by  music  room  and  library  on 
the  second  tioor,  adjoining  the  study  hall ;  one  stor}-  wings 
to  the  north  and  south  of  these  were  occupied  by  class  rooms, 
the  one  to  the  south  by  the  primary  department. 

It  seems  that  here  the  story  ought  to  end  with,  ''and  so 
they  prospered,"  but  here  the  story  only  begins ;  the  real  life 
of  Milwaukee  college  dates  from  1852,  and  may  it  never  out- 
grow its  youth. 

New  difficulties  appeared,  new  necessities  arose,  poverty 
stared  them  in  the  face,  discouragement  dared  their  bravery, 
complications  challenged  their  skill.  The  teachers  in  a  letter 
to  the  trustees,  after  telling  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  tuition 
fe(3S  to  pay  their  salaries  and  board,  closed  by  saying :  "  We 
crave  your  patience  with  our  reiterated  pleas  for  "more,"  even 
after  you  have  furnished  us  with  spacious  and  beautiful  halls. 
Alas !  their  very  beauty,  and  spaciousness  but  the  more  im- 
pressively remind  us  of  their  nakedness." 

The  mysterious  disappearance  of  the  records  from  this 
time  to  1867  makes  an  accurate  history  of  the  college  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  obtain,  but  its  connection  with  the 
"  American  Women's  Educational  Association,"  of  New  York, 
formed  in  June,  1852,  has  thrown  some  light,  and  other 
sources  supply  a  meagre  history. 

The  plan  of  the  association  just  mentioned  was  to  estab- 
lished permanently  endowed  institutions  for  M'omen  where 
they  might  be  educated  in  their  proper  departments,  train 
them  in  their  professions  as  set  forth  in  the  plan  of  Catherine 
Beecher,  and  supply  them  with  renumerative  employments. 

The  conditions  were  first,  that  a  school,  such  as  the  col- 
lege was  then,  should  be  established  with  a  primary  and 
high  school  department,  and  pupils  enough  to  support  four 
teachers  of  equal  rank  and  power  constituting  a  faculty,  and 
in  return  receive  $1,000  in  library  and  apparatus  from  the 
association.  The  first  board  of  teachers  was  to  be  appointed 
by  the  association  and  thereafter  the  faculty  was  to  have  the 
nominating  power,  and  the  trustees  the  appointing  power. 

The  Institute  was  in  1852  competent  to  meet  the 
second  part  of  the  plan.     When  the  school  was  sufficiently 


696  MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

established  the  citizens  were  to  erect  a  building  of  not  less 
than  S10,000  cost  and  provide  scholarships  for  twenty  nor- 
mal pupils,  and  the  association  would  then  endow  the  school 
with  $20,000,  enough  to  provide  for  the  salaries  of  three 
teachers  who,  with  as  many  others  as  wished  to  enter,  con- 
stituted the  normal  department. 

Here  we  see  plainly  the  plan  of  Catherine  Beecher,  who 
was  indeed,  with  Mrs.  Sigourney,  ^Irs.  Stowe,  Miss  Mortimer 
and  others  equally  well  known,  upon  the  board  of  managers 
of  the  association. 

This  was  the  plan  adopted  by  Milwaukee  college  in  its 
early  daj^s,  and  it  is  to  the  lament  of  the  present  board  of 
trustees,  the  faculty,  the  pupils  and  the  citizens  of  Milwau- 
kee, that  it  ever  deviated. 

As  the  school  met  the  requirements  of  the  association, 
part  of  the  promised  endowment  was  paid,  to  the  amount  of 
^5,000,  and  the  financial  difficulties  were  abated  for  the  time. 

Trouble,  however,  was  imminent,  and  to  fortify  them- 
selves against  it,  the  board  of  trustees  was  enlarged  from 
nine  to  thirteen,  the  four  new  members  being  John  W. 
Medbury,  Alexander  Mitchell,  Eliphalet  Cramer  and  R.  N. 
Austin. 

The  trouble  was  not  long  in  coming ;  money  as  usual 
was  lacking  and  money  must  be  had,  so  it  was  raised  by  a 
mortgage,  given  to  a  produce  dealer  on  Fourth  and  Walnut 
streets,  who  paid  them  $3,000  for  a  claim  on  the  lot  and 
buildings. 

This  afforded  temporar}^  relief ;  but  it  was  not  for  long, 
for  the  carpenter  came  with  a  claim  for  materials,  and  the 
mechanics  filed  a  lien,  and  matters  went  from  bad  to  worse, 
sinking  under  the  burden  of  debt  that  could  not  be  alleviated. 

The  following  year  saw  every  resource  resorted  to  for 
raising  money;  scholarships  were  sold  for  |100  each,  one- 
fourth  paid  down,  the  balance  in  one,  two  and  three  years, 
with  an  interest  of  ten  per  cent.;  several  subscribers  to  scholar- 
ships paid  their  notes  before  they  became  due,  and  at  last  all 
the  judgments,  carpenters  and  mechanics  and  all,  were  cleared 
up. 

The  Baasen  mortgage  was  not  due,  but  the  arrears  in 
interest  were  so  great  that  the  mortgage  was  brought  to  ma- 
turity before  its  time  expired,  and  the  owner  began  to  fore- 
close ;   the  college  property  was  advertised  for  sale. 

What  should  be  done  ?  The  citizens  read  the  adver- 
tisement with  dismay,  they  said  it  should  never  come  to  pass. 


MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE.  697 

and  a  meeting  was  called  to  see  what  should  be  done.  Great 
enthusiasm  prevailed,  eloquent  speakers  pictured  the  situa- 
tion, told  of  the  magnificent  undertaking,  of  the  disgrace  of 
failure ;  and  the  audience  rose  to  the  occasion,  for  when  the 
subscription  list  had  gone  the  rounds  it  showed  a  promise  of 
nearly  $11,000.  The  mortgage  was  paid.  The  treasurer's 
book  showed  65  cents  in  money,  S500  worth  of  stock  in  the 
Milwaukee  &  Mississippi  railroad  company,  and  $4,525  in 
subscription  notes,  payable  at  different  times.  In  order  to 
allow  these  notes  to  mature,  four  of  the  trustees  gave  their 
personal  notes  for  §1,000  each,  thereby  founding  a  stock 
company.  Stock  was  then  issued  at  $25  a  share  and  the 
pecuniary  embarassment  was  relieved,  the  excitement  sub- 
sided, and  a  note  in  the  catalogue  of  that  year  says  that  the 
financial  matters  are  in  "  the  most  prosperous  condition." 

Meantime  another  important  event  had  occurred ;  the 
"  Milwaukee  normal  institute  and  high  school "  no  longer 
existed,  for,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  teachers,  the  name 
had  been  changed  to  "  Milwaukee  female  college,"  and  the 
new  corporation  was  vested  with  the  power  to  hold  money, 
issue  stock  and  carry  on  all  business  transactions  that  became 
necessary.  The  first  certificate  of  four  shares  of  stock  was 
taken  by  Charles  F.  Hsley,  of  Milwaukee.  The  new  corpo- 
ration had  two  more  trustees.  The  first  catalogue  of  Mil- 
waukee female  college  was  issued  in  1853,  with  Miss  Mary 
Mortimer  as  principal,  and  a  roll  of  252  pupils ;  it  also  re- 
cords the  planting  of  43  shade  trees,  14  large  ones  and  29 
small  ones,  which  have  now  attained  that  grand  height  and 
luxuriant  growth  for  which  American  trees  are  pre-eminent, 
and  those  that  have  not  fallen  prey  to  the  axe  in  the  triumph 
of  their  pride,  now  afford  a  grateful  shade  in  the  heat  of 
summer  and  beautify  the  street,  softening  the  lines  of  the  old 
building. 

A  newspaper  notice  of  that  time  said  that  the  institu- 
tion was  fairly  established,  and  destined  to  play  an  impoi"- 
tant  part  in  the  history  of  the  city  and  state  ;  it  was  called 
by  the  value  of  the  real  estate  and  advance  of  stock,  self-sus- 
taining, speaking  quite  at  lengtli  upon  its  stability  and  use- 
fulness, and  finally  stating  its  greatest  want  to  be  a  good 
boarding  house. 

Since  the  days  of  the  Oneida  street  school  there  had 
never  been  a  boarding  department  connected  with  the  col- 
lege, it  being  in  the  plan  of  Catherine  Beecher  to  keep 
"  crowded  boarding  houses  "  distinct  from  educational  insti- 


C98  MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

tutions,  and  pupils  from  out  of  town  had  found  their  own 
abodes,  often  in  the  same  places  with  the  teachers,  more  or 
less  distant  from  the  school.  This  plan  did  not  suit  Miss 
Mortimer,  however,  who  year  by  year  cherished  the  plan  of 
attaching  a  home  to  the  school,  bringing  all  the  girls  together 
under  a  home  influence;  and  even  Miss  Beech  er  yielded  that 
point  and  would  have  been  glad  to  see  a  home  established 
which  would  savor  in  no  way  of  a  boarding  house.  In 
1857,  after  five  years'  service  as  principal  and  nine  years'  con- 
nection with  the  school.  Miss  Mortimer,  worn  with  men- 
tal and  physical  labors  and  anxiety,  gave  up  her  position, 
regretted  by  trustees  and  pupils,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mary 
E.  and  Caroline  E.  Cliapin. 

These  two  sisters  remained  six  years,  assisted  the  last 
two  by  Elizabeth  Watson. 

Their  success  was  hampered  by  the  financial  crisis  of 
1857,  and  the  opening  of  the  public  high  school,  both  of 
which  causes  materially  crippled  the  college.  During  this 
time  the  standard  fell  so  that  Miss  Beecher  in  a  letter  com- 
plained that  the  school  was  no  more  than  a  high  school,  car- 
ried on  by  one  principal,  instead  of  a  faculty  of  equal  im- 
portance, and  it  might  as  well  be  merged  into  the  public 
school  system.  At  the  same  time  she  offered  S2,000  to 
relieve  the  financial  trouble  which  again  presented  itself, 
which  was  refused  probably  on  account  of  delicacy  of  feeling. 

At  length  the  time  came  when  the  girls  from  other 
cities  and  towns,  and  from  the  countr}',  were  to  have  a  home  ; 
and  after  much  correspondence  between  the  association  who 
was  to  furnish  the  money,  and  the  trustees,  and  Miss  Beecher, 
who  was  to  take  charge  of  the  home,  it  rose  to  the  height  of  two 
stories  with  a  basement  foundation. 

Miss  Beecher  never  took  charge  of  it,  however,  as  she 
could  not  come  to  an  understanding  with  the  board ;  and  the 
new  building  was  leased  for  five  years  to  the  Chapin  sisters 
and  Miss  Watson,  "to be  used  exclusively  as  a  residence  and 
boarding  house  for  teachers  and  pupils,  and  for  no  other 
purpose." 

Although  it  had  been  hoped  that  the  new  building 
would  be  an  impetus,  it  did  not  prove  so,  and  the  expendi- 
tures overreached  the  constantly  decreasing  income  till 
debt  again  stared  them  in  the  face,  but  sixty  students  were 
enrolled  in  September,  1862. 

The  lessees  terminated  their  tenancy  in  June,  1863,  and 
left  Milwaukee  college. 


MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE.  699 

Again  the  educational  association  was  asked  for  funds, 
^gain  none  came,  and  fears  arose  that  the  $5,000  already 
given  might  be  considered  forfeited  by  the  departure  from 
the  college  plan  prescribed  by  the  association  and  agreed 
upon  l)y  the  board.     This  was,  however,  never  required. 

Meanwhile  a  new  proposition  came  from  Samuel  S.  Sher- 
man, one  of  the  trustees,  to  take  the  school,  paying  a  small 
annual  rental,  and  make  it  self-supporting,  employ  his  own 
teachers,  and  set  his  charges  for  tuition  and  other  details, 
thus  relieving  the  board  of  responsibility,  and  eventually 
enabling  them  to  pay  the  present  indebtedness. 

After  the  recitations  of  their  past  discouragements,  who 
shall  blame  them  for  yielding  to  this  alluring  plan,  and 
quieting  their  consciences  by  the  thought  that  it  would  be 
only  a  few  years,  and  rest  from  anxiety  would  be  so  welcome  ? 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  college  that  had  started 
out  with  such  noble  purpose,  like  many  a  forlorn  creature  of 
this  world,  fell  for  want  of  the  sustenance  it  needed. 

Prof.  Sherman  was  perfectly  competent  to  take  charge 
of  the  school,  for  he  had  conducted  a  school  of  from  450  to 
500  pupils,  girls  from  the  most  cultivated  and  wealthiest 
families  in  the  South,  at  Marion,  Alabama,  and  had  been  a 
highly  successful  teacher.  He  was  extremely  popular  there, 
and  only  left  on  account  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war, 
for  being  a  New  Englander  his  sympathies  were  hardly  with 
secessionists.  Coming  to  Milwaukee,  his  ability  was  at  once 
appreciated,  as  the  friends  he  made  will  always  testify. 

He  was  of  modest  and  retiring  disposition,  but  his  in- 
tellectual ability  and  business  energy,  unhampered  by  lack 
of  means,  built  up  Milwaukee  college  into  a  stronghold  of 
learning,  while  his  free  hospitality,  the  warm  welcome  of  his 
wife  and  family,  and  his  own  sociability,  kept  the  doors  of 
the  school  and  home  wide  open  and  made  of  its  rooms  a 
delightful  meeting  place  for  the  citizens,  whether  directly 
interested  or  not. 

To  him  is  due  the  new  life  which  now  took  hold,  the  pupils 
that  poured  in,  and  the  money  that  came  with  them ;  the 
standard  was  raised,  and  Milwaukee  college  was  again  pop- 
ular and  flourishing.  The  sensitive  nerves  and  firm  pur- 
pose of  Miss  Beecher  received  such  a  shock  at  the  news  of 
these  proceedings  that  she  wrote  a  long  letter  and  soon  fol- 
low^ed  it  to  Milwaukee,  offering  every  inducement  if  the 
board  would  but  dismiss  Mr.  Sherman,  and  return  to  the  old 
methods.    Mr.  Sherman  expressed  himself  as  agreeable  to  the 


700  MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

proposition,  but  the  trustees  refused  it ;  they  were  satisfied 
with  the  work  that  was  being  done  and  the  manner  of  doing 
it ;  but  by  the  end  of  the  third  year  of  Mr.  Sherman's  incum- 
bency matters  became  so  comphcated  between  Miss  Beech er, 
the  board  and  tlie  association,  that  he  was  glad  to  retire  from 
what  he  termed  "  a  short  and  not  very  brilliant  episode  "  in 
his  life. 

Compromises  were  made  peaceably,  and  in  accordance 
with  an  almost  unanimous  public  sentiment.  Miss  Mortimer 
was  recalled.  But  her  recall  did  not  mend  matters,  for  she 
took  the  same  terms  upon  herself  that  Mr.  Sherman  had 
agreed  to,  and  paid  $500  a  year  for  three  years'  lease,  with 
the  privilege  of  three  more  if  she  so  desired. 

Affairs  were  amicably  settled  between  the  board  and  the 
educational  association,  and  all  promised  well ;  the  college  was 
exempted  from  further  interference  from  the  association,  and 
a  partial  return  to  the  original  plan  of  carrying  on  the  in- 
stitution took  place  under  Miss  Mortimer. 

This  was  the  last  connection  between  the  association  and 
the  college,  the  endowment  was  never  furnished,  and  in 
1878  the  American  Women's  Educational  association  died 
with  its  founder,  Catherine  Beecher. 

Looking  at  the  life  of  this  earnest  and  intellectual 
woman  one  cannot  but  feel  sadness  at  her  unsuccessful  end. 
Her  noble  nature,  her  high  aims  and  indomitable  will,  her 
unselfish  devotion  to  her  cause,  her  energy  and  courage  in 
overcoming  obstacles,  command  our  admiration,  while  we 
lament  the  lack  of  adaptability  of  her  mind  and  plan  to 
circumstances  and  influences.  Her  desire  was  to  make  of 
girls  self-reliant,  moral,  intellectual  women,  and  her  plan 
was  straight  to  the  mark ;  but  she  forgot  that  each  girl  is  an 
individual,  and  each  disposition  requires  a  modification  of 
any  one  design,  that  each  one  of  us  must  live  our  own  life 
as  it  lies  before  us.  Yet  the  good  she  did  will  not  be  for- 
gotten, and  the  influence  of  her  eftbrts  will  forever  be  felt 
among  the  women  of  the  United  States. 

The  idea  of  a  seminary  was  repugnant  to  the  mind  of 
Miss  Mortimer,  and  with  the  authority  with  which  she  was 
vested  under  the  terms  of  the  lease  she  put  the  college  upon 
its  old  basis,  having  a  faculty  of  four  teachers  of  equal 
authority;  and  her  first  catalogue  shoAved  296  pupils, 
the  largest  number  ever  in  attendance  at  Milwaukee 
college. 


MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE.  701 

More  accommodation  was  required  and  an  east  wing 
was  added  to  the  body  of  the  building,  where  were  located 
the  gymnasium  in  the  second  story,  directly  adjoining  the 
study  hall,  and  music-room  and  studio  on  the  first  floor. 

Miss  Mortimer  renewed  her  lease  according  to  the 
former  terms  and  took  twenty  shares  of  stock,  which  gave 
her  large  powers.  She  used  these  powers  in  placing  three 
women  upon  the  board  of  trustees,  where  not  less  than  five 
have  remained  ever  since. 

The  next  year,  although  there  was  a  falling  off  of 
eighty  pupils,  the  women  of  the  city,  stimulated  by  the 
sight  of  five  women  in  the  board,  made  an  effort  to  clear  the 
$3,000  mortgage  taken  out  in  1865,  but  their  efforts  were  of 
no  avail,  and  not  until  the  following  year,  under  the  wise 
policy  of  Prof.  Farrar,  was  the  debt  paid. 

Miss  Mortimer  felt  that  her  time  of  usefulness  in  the 
college  was  over,  and  accordingly  tendered  her  resignation, 
which  was  received  with  deep  regret  by  the  entire  commu- 
nity. 

Those  who  knew  her  personally  love  her,  and  seem  as 
the  years  advance,  increasingly  to  appreciate  her  beautiful 
character ;  their  faces  light  as  they  recount  her  many  virtues 
and  her  tender,  womanly  nature.  She  seems  not  to  have 
been  the  energetic,  aggressive  woman  that  Miss  Beecherwas, 
but  rather  to  exert  a  quiet,  uplifting  influence,  showing  by 
her  own  life  that  gentleness  will  conquer  when  all  the  force 
of  battle  may  fail. 

With  her  severance  from  the  school  her  efforts  did  not 
cease,  for  she  was  most  assiduous  in  trying  to  secure  $10,000, 
which  was  to  meet  the  immediate  needs  of  the  college  ;  and 
her  contagious  enthusiasm  in  spite  of  past  discouragements 
made  all  her  friends  put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel,  and 
the  money  was  raised. 

Prof.  Farrar  had  always  been  an  object  of  Miss  Morti- 
mer's admiration,  and  upon  her  resignation  she  recom- 
mended him  to  the  board,  and  he  was  invited  to  pay  Mil- 
waukee a  visit.  Charge  of  the  school  was  offered  him  and 
he  accepted,  and  the  first  year  showed  such  good  manage- 
ment, such  enterprise  and  so  much  promise,  that  it  was 
resolved  to  lease  to  the  new  president  the  entire  property, 
real  and  personal,  for  ten  years,  free  of  rent,  he  being  re- 
quired to  pay  all  expenses,  including  repairs,  taxes, 
assessments,  insurance  and  interest  on  the  mortgage  of 
$2,000.00. 


702  MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

He  was  indeed  given  the  entire  control  of  the  college, 
making  his  own  terms  of  tuition,  etc.,  adopting  his  own 
course  of  study,  in  fact,  clothed  with  all  the  powers  of 
a  president  in  the  ordinary  college  for  men. 

Alas,  Miss  Beecher  !  how  far  has  this  departed  from  your 
plan.  Why  could  not  the  sunset  of  your  life  have  been 
bright,  and  the  reward  of  your  labors  gratified  you  ?  Why 
must  it  be  that  the  fruits  should  not  be  gathered  till  many 
years  after  your  great  spirit  had  found  its  rest  ?  None  shall 
say,  but  w^e  look  with  fond  hope  to  the  future,  trusting  that 
the  money  still  may  be  forthcoming,  and  your  dreams  shall 
be  realized  at  last  by  those  who,  although  they  knew  you 
not  in  life,  still  honor  and  love  you  for  what  you  endeavored 
to  do. 

Miss  Mortimer  retired  from  public  life  when  Prof.  Farrar 
was  installed,  and  bought  a  home  on  Milwaukee  river,  where, 
with  her  many  friends  about  her,  she  lived  in  peace.  Her 
peace  soon  changed  to  everlasting  rest,  for  in  three  years  she 
died,  at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  Her  interest  in  the  school 
which  she  had  labored  for,  and  loved,  never  abated ;  and 
although  her  methods  failed,  her  influence  exerted  over  1,500 
women  was  elevating  and  enduring,  as  is  amply  shown  in 
the  tributes  to  her  memory  which  have  never  ceased,  coming 
from  the  high  and  lowly,  and  especially  from  those  who  were 
members  of  the  school  when  she  was  principtal. 

The  trustees  passed  resolutions  to  the  effect  that  the 
college  mourned  the  loss  of  one  of  its  earliest,  most  loving 
and  faithful  friends,  an  able  educator,  a  skillful  teacher,  and 
a  noble  Christian  woman. 

Four  years  after  her  death  the  alumnae  raised  about 
$500  which  they  offered  to  the  trustees  to  found  a  Mortimer 
library,  stipulating  that  the  trustees  should  furnish  $35 
annually  for  the  purchase  of  new  books  to  add  to  this  me- 
morial library,  and  Prof  Farrar  oft'ered  to  pay  the  $35  as 
long  as  he  remained  president  of  the  school.  Shelving 
was  given  by  Miss  Mortimer's  sister,  and  the  library  now 
contains  over  600  volumes,  including  Miss  Mortimer's  be- 
quest of  her  own  library. 

Later,  however,  the  shelving  was  replaced,  by  the  alum- 
nae, with  oak  book  cases,  and  a  crayon  portrait  of  her  whose 
memorial  it  was,  was  hung  in  the  alcove  above  the  books, 
while  a  mural  tablet  was  placed  by  twelve  graduates  of  Bar- 
aboo  seminary,  where  Miss  Mortimer  w^ent  after  her  first 
work  here  in  1857,  with  this  inscription  : 


milwaukee  college.  703 

Mary  Mortimer, 

a  tribute  of  affection  from  alumna 

and  teachers  of 

baraboo  female  seminary. 

The  most  touching  tributes  came  from  those  who  were 
intimately  associated  with  her,  both  from  teacliers  and  schol- 
ars.    Their  reminiescnces  seem  to  carrv  them  out  of  thcm- 


COLLEGE    LIBRARY   AND    MARY    MORTIMER    ME.MORIAL    LIBRARY. 

selves,  and  they  seem  almost  again  to  be  talking  with  her 
and  allowing  themselves  to  be  led  by  this  wise  and  powerful, 
yet  gentle  and  unobtrusive  little  woman,  and  great  lady, 
Mary  Mortimer. 

Milwaukee's  greatest  monument  is  one  of  her  own  be- 
ginning. The  "  Woman's  Club  of  Wisconsin  "  now  stands 
a  perpetual  pride  to  the  women  of  the  city  and  state,  indeed 
to  all  women,  for  it  is  the  only  club   of  any   importance   in 


704  MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

the  United  States,  that  is  entirely  governed  by  women,  oc- 
cupying the  halls  of  a  club  house,  the  entire  business  of 
which  is  done  by  women. 

The  beginnings  of  this  body  were  in  the  little  home  of 
Miss  Mot'timer,  where  she  carried  on  a  sort  of  salon,  writing 
lectures  and  delivering  them  to  those  who  could  attend,  on 
a  sort  of  post-graduate  scale,  attempting  to  keep  alive  in  the 
minds  of  women  that  desire  for  knowlege  that  springs  into 
being  in  the  last  years  of  school  life. 

The  state  of  Wisconsin  to-day  claims  possession  of  the 
tower  of  their  rearing.  Thus  does  the  influence  of  an  in- 
dividual go  forth  through  generations  to  eternity. 

The  Hrst  years  of  the  college  under  the  management  of 
Professor  Farrar  were  marked  by  great  changes  and  im- 
provements. Never  for  a  moment  did  he  think  of  himself, 
but  entered  into  the  work  of  building  up  a  school  which 
should  be  a  power  felt  throughout  the  Northwest.  The  first 
year  permanent  improvements  were  made  upon  the  school 
buildings ;  the  home  was  raised  to  three  stories  in  height, 
there  was  a  basement  placed  under  the  college  building  ;  the 
extreme  north  and  south  wings  were  raised  a  story,  to  be  on 
a  level  with  the  wings  adjoining  the  body,  to  secure  greater 
accommodations ;  many  conveniences  were  provided,  and 
Professor  Farrar  spared  no  effort  and  no  money  to  make  it 
an  ideal  place  for  study. 

The  number  of  students  increased  accordingly,  num- 
bering the  second  year  almost  200  and  retaining  an  average 
of  250  for  nine  years  after.  A  good  school  was  supplied,  and 
people  were  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  send  their 
daughters  where  they  could  learn  the  classics  and  languages, 
physical  sciences  and  arts,  natural  philosophy,  biology, 
botany,  geology,  and  physiology  practically  applied,  where 
they  could  see  the  realities  in  the  specimens  which  Profes- 
sor Farrar  amply  provided. 

The  teachers  were  of  the  best,  cultured  and  refined, 
giving  the  pupils,  especially  the  boarding  pupils,  the  benefit 
of  daily  contact  with  good  breeding,  high  moral  principles 
and  Christian  example,  as  well  as  mental  developments. 
Their  experience  rendered  them  accomplished  instructors ; 
and  there  was  not  one  who  did  not  command  the  respect, 
admiration  and  love  of  the  girls. 

The  responsibility  of  the  trustees  was  not,  however, 
removed,  for  although  they  had  a  president  of  such  ability, 
still  the  money  they  had   raised   during   liis   first  year  had 


TOG  MILWAUKEE    COLLEGE. 

gradually  slipped  away  until  even  the  gift  received  from 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Rogers,  a  lot  in  the  Fourth  ward,  had  to  be  sold 
to  meet  current  expenses;  and  an  emptiness  of  the  treasury 
followed,  which  became  chronic. 

Still  Professor  Farrar  was  never  discouraged,  and  from 
his  own  purse,  which  was  ever  open,  he  added  one  good  thing 
after  another,  far  beyond  the  terms  of  the  lease,  never  de- 
manding reimbursements  nor,  excepting  in  a  few  instances, 
hesitating  to  give  the  improvements  outright  to  the  college. 

The  board  would  have  had  him  more  reserved,  telling 
him  that  he  would  not  receive  the  return  of  his  outlay, but  he 
was  bent  upon  the  success  and  fame  of  Milwaukee  college  at 
any  expense,  and  for  twelve  years  he  did  have  a  good  reward. 

Money  was  to  him  a  small  consideration,  it  flowed  like 
water.  Twelve  hundred  dollars  went  for  specimens  to  illus- 
trate lithology,  mineralogy,  zoology,  geology  and  osteology, 
which  were  afterwards  purchased  by  the  board.  Models  and 
charts,  and  a  full  dissected  majiikin,  were  provided  for  the 
study  of  physiology,  and  the  chemical  laboratory  was  equip- 
ped. An  addition  was  made  78  feet  in  length,  where  in  the 
basement  the  primary  scholars  could  have  a  play-room 
warmed  by  furnaces ;  on  the  first  floor  the  older  girls  could 
have  a  large  hall  for  elocution  and  gymnastics ;  and  on  the 
second  stor}'  two  large  studios  and  a  special  room  for  experi- 
ments  in  optics  could  be  obtained. 

All  these  expenses  were  borne  principally  by  the  presi- 
dent, although  it  was  against  the  desire  and  purpose  of  the 
board  of  trustees. 

A  few  gifts  came  not  in  mongy  but  in  improvements. 
The  alumnae  gave  portraits  of  Mr.  Otis  H.  Waldo,  who  for 
twenty  years  labored  unceasingly  as  trustee,  in  behalf  of 
the  college,  two  years  as  president  and  four  years  as  vice- 
president  of  the  board,  and  whose  wife  and  daughters  had 
always  held  open  house  to  the  teachers  and  pupils,  equally 
interested  and  loyal  with  him;  also  a  portrait  of  Dr.  Lapham. 

Dr.  Lapham's  reputation  as  a  scientist,  both  in  the 
United  States  and  Europe,  is  too  well-known  to  need  even 
mentioning,  and  his  connection  with  Milwaukee  college  is 
therefore  a  double  honor  and  cause  for  gratification.  He 
alone  perhaps  thoroughly  understood  the  plan  of  Miss 
Beecher,  and  from  the  time  he  signed  his  name  to  the  char- 
ter till  his  death  in  1875,  he  served  on  the  board  of  trustees, 
for  many  years  its  president  and  always  a  faithful  and  in- 
terested member.     Through  twenty-five  years  he  hoped  and 


MILWAUKEE    COLLEGE.  70T 

worked  with  tireless  energy  and  fidelity;  striving  to  estalish 
the  college  upon  a  firm  foundation,  giving  his  personal  guid- 
ance to  some  of  the  excursions  for  investigation,  which  were 
frequently  taken  under  Prof.  Farrar ;  and  many  a  pleasant 
hour  has  been  spent  by  students  in  botany  and  geology, 
examining  his  beautiful  specimens,  some  of  which  he  after- 
wards gave  to  the  college. 

Another  gift  that  the  college  received  in  1876  was  a 
telescope  "  to  meet  all  the  practical  and  present  needs  of  our 
students  in  astronomy,"  from  Mr.  Hiram  Barber,  of  Horicon, 
Wisconsin,  and  an  observatory  constructed  upon  the  college 
grounds  by  Mr.  William  P.  McLaren,  the  present  president  of 
the  board. 

The  visitor  to  the  college  to-day  will  wander  from  hall 
to  hall,  from  room  to  room  looking  in  vain  for  all  these  val- 
uable acquisitions,  and  will  ask  where  they  are,  what  has 
become  of  them,  thinking  it  extravagant  policy  that  ever 
disposed  of  such  equipments.  Alas!  the  tale  is  soon  told, 
the  one  word  fire  expresses  it  all !  Early  in  the  morning  of 
January  26,  1883,  the  smell  of  smoke  pervaded  the  apart- 
ments of  those  near  by,  and  before  the  flames  could  be  ex- 
tinguished, irreparable  damage  had  been  done.  Insurance 
could  not  cover  the  loss  of  the  two  portraits  of  Mr.  Waldo 
and  Mr.  Lapham,  the  copy  of  Guido  Reni's  "Aurora"  ob- 
tained by  the  alumnae  at  a  cost  of  $300,  through  Miss  Mor- 
timer, who  brought  it  from  Italy,  and  presented  to  the  col- 
lege ;  money  could  not  replace  the  gift  of  specimens  from 
Mr.  Lapham,  and  money  would  never  be  raised  again  to 
restore  even  the  things  it  could. 

Money  did  some  things  though,  it  put  a  fire-proof  ceil- 
ing in  the  boiler  room,  it  refitted  the  study  hall  and  furn- 
ished additional  room  in  the  crowded  boarding  department, 
and  replaced  some  of  the  damaged  philosophical  apparatus. 
Untiring  vigilance  has  kept  watch  over  the  insurance  pol- 
icies ever  since. 

In  1886  Prof.  Farrar  submitted  a  proposal  to  the  trus- 
tees to  enlarge  the  home,  which  was  altogether  inadequate, 
promising  it  should  be  done  at  his  own  expense.  The  trus- 
tees disapproved  of  the  plan,  fearing  that  patronage  would 
not  warrant,  it  and  endeavored  to  dissuade  him,  but  he  per- 
sisted ;  and  as  the  promise  to  pay  all  the  expenses  himself  gave 
them  no  real  ground  for  refusal,  they  finally  gave  their  con- 
sent. The  result  was  as  they  had  feared  ;  as  to  inviting  more 
pupils  it  had  no  such  result,  but  the  decrease  in  the  more 


708  MILWAUKEE    COLLEGE. 

advanced  pupils  was  a  small  loss  compared  with  that  re- 
sulting from  the  taking  out  of  the  primary  department  by 
the  trustees,  whose  object  was  to  raise  the  minimum  age  of 
the  school  and  enable  the  instructors  to  give  more  attention 
to  higher  grades  of  study. 

Two  years  later  Prof.  Farrar,  no  doubt  discouraged 
with  his  poor  success  for  the  past  four  years,  and  the  fifteen 
years  spent  in  Milwaukee  seeming  to  count  for  naught,  pre- 
sented his  resignation,  to  take  effect  at  the  close  of  the 
school  year,  1888-9,  which  was  accepted  by  the  trustees. 

The  average  number  of  boarding  students  was  upheld 
to  the  last,  but  the  number  of  day  scholars  was  decreasing 
year  by  year  and  the  president  would  rather  go  than  stay 
to  see  the  idol  of  his  hopes  perish  under  his  hand. 

Closely  connected  with  a  history  of  "Milwaukee  col- 
lege" (its  legitimate  name  since  1875)  is  a  historj^  of  the 
^'Ladies  Art  and  Science  Class"  from  which  indeed  it  can- 
not be  separated,  for  it  was  through  Prof.  Farrar  that  it  had 
its  being,  and  the  weekly  attendance  to-day  of  two  hundred 
or  more  women  at  the  college  hall,  where  it  still  holds  its 
meetings,  as  well  as  the  library  connected  with  the  college 
library,  attest  its  relation. 

A  year  after  Professor  Farrar's  entrance  upon  his  duties 
in  Milwaukee,  eighteen  years  ago,  seven  women,  headed  by 
Mrs.  C.  D.  Adsit,  and  including  Mrs.  Theodore  Yates,  Mrs. 
I.  N.  Dana,  Mrs.  Winfield  Smith,  Mrs.  Follett,  Mrs.  H.  R. 
A^edder  and  Mrs.  A.  C.  May,  applied  to  him  to  lead  them  in 
the  study  of  chemistry.  He  gladly  complied ;  and  with 
their  permission  he  advertised  the  class ;  and  fifty- 
three  women  attended  that  first  course  and  enjoyed 
the  lectures  illustrated  by  experiments,  so  much  that  the 
following  winter  three  courses  were  given,  treating  of  cul- 
inary chemistry,  pottery  and  porcelain,  dyeing  and  printing. 
In  the  third  winter  twelve  lectures  in  sculpture  changed 
the  " science  class "  into  the  "art  and  science  class,"  its  pres- 
ent name. 

Up  to  the  end  of  the  third  year  the  class  had  no  formal 
organization,  the  chair  occupied  by  Mrs.  Adsit  carried  on 
whatever  business  was  necessary ;  but  when  a  new  course 
was  projected  in  Italian  painting,  it  w^as  proposed  to  organ- 
ize and,  accordingly  president,  vice-president,  and  other 
officers  were  elected  and  it  became  a  club. 

Illustration  had  been  so  prominent  a  feature  hitherto 
that  no  one  thought  of  dropping  it,  in  fact   it   was   adopted 


MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 


709 


upon  a  larger  scale,  and  large  lanterns  for  throwing  pictures 
on  a  screen  twenty-two  feet  in  length  were  purchased  ;  lan- 
tern slides  were  made  from  photographs  procured  by  Prof. 
Farrar  when  he  was  in  Europe,  and  the  windows  were  sup- 
plied with  opaque  shades  so  that  the  pictures  might  be  ex- 
hibited in  the  day  time  without  the  interference  of  light. 
These  equipments  were  the  personal  property  of  Prof.  Far- 


1.II!I:ARV    (IF    LADIES     ART   CLASS. 


rar  and  he  still  uses  them  in  his  classes,   which  he  conducts 
now  in  other  cities  as  well  as  in  Milwaukee. 

Under  the  articles  of  organization  it  was  ruled  that  all 
casts,  pictures,  books  and  other  acquisitions  which  should 
be  made  by  the  class  should  become  the  permanent  prop- 
erty of  the  college,  subject  always  to  their  own  use ;  and  a 
slight  payment  for  the  use  of  the  college  hall  as  a  class 
room  and  the  library  as  reading  room  was  to  be  made 
weekly. 


710  MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

The  project  succeeded  admirably  and  an  evening  class 
was  formed  in  "Imaginary  Travel"  so  that  men  as  well  as 
women  might  have  the  benefit  of  the  research  Prof.  Farrar 
had  made. 

The  "  ladies'  art  and  science  class"  has  year  by  year  fol- 
lowed art  in  all  its  phases  from  one  country  to  another,  mak- 
ing every  member  feel  that  she  has  seen  the  very  places  and 
objects  themselves. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  what  a  power  such  a  class  would 
prove,  rousing  interest  in  what  before  was  unknown  by  many 
of  the  listeners,  and  guiding  the  reading  and  thoughts  of  all 
who  attended. 

After  the  class  had  existed  for  eight  years  it  had  in  its 
possession  so  many  books  and  art  works  that  with  Prof. 
Farrar  it  sought  permission  to  extend  the  south  wing  of  the 
main  building  which  should  supply  the  much  needed  library. 
Permission  was  granted,  and  the  wing  was  erected  at  a  cost  of 
about  ^2,500,  $1,800  of  which  was  supplied  by  Professor  Far- 
rar. 

The  room  is  cozy  and  attractive,  with  its  crackling  grate 
fire  throwing  its  luminous  reflection  on  the  rows  of  books 
which  line  the  walls,  beaming  on  the  pictures  and  statuary, 
and  playing  with  the  sunshine  which  pours  in  through  the 
windows. 

This  year,  1893,  has  already  seen  a  change  in  the  art 
■class,  it  has  "  reached  years  of  discretion,"  it  has  become  in- 
corporated and  stands  henceforth  upon  its  own  feet ;  but  it  is 
still  the  child  of  the  college  and  it  is  not  likely  to  be  severed 
from  it  so  long  as  it  is  possible  to  remain  within  its  w^alls. 
Professor  Farrar  still  conducts  the  class  and  probably  will  as 
long  as  he  is  able  to  do  so. 

In  1889,  as  before  stated,  he  terminated  his  tenancy  of 
the  college  and  took  up  his  home  in  Chicago.  His  interest 
and  love  for  the  school  had  prompted  him  to  spend  nearly 
$14,000  in  endeavors  to  place  it  beside  the  foremost  colleges 
of  the  United  States ;  but  for  some  unknown  reason,  he  failed 
and  his  fortune,  which  should  have  supported  his  declining 
years,  was  never  replaced  by  those  within  whose  power  it  lay, 
only  to  the  extent  of  a  small  amount,  less  than  one-fourth 
the  sum.  He  was  succeeded  by  Charles  R.  Kingsley,  who 
holds  a  lease  for  five  years. 

Some  four  months  after  Professor  Kingsley's  accession 
the  college  was  destined  to  come  in  contact  with  another  as- 
sociation, not  this  time  existing  at  a  distance,  but  in  the  very 


MILWAUKEE   COLLEGE.  711 

midst  even  of  the  trustees,  the  Milwaukee  College  Endow- 
ment association,  whose  name  indicates  its  purpose,  and  made 
up  entirely  of  women,  numbering  at  present  nearly  one  hun- 
dred members. 

Looking  over  the  sad  history  of  this  school  some  of  Mil- 
waukee's strong  and  able  women  determined  to  proffer  a 
helping  hand,  and  if  possible  obtain  that  substantial  endow- 
ment of  which  the  college  had  always  stood  so  much  in  need. 

In  response  to  an  invitation  issued  to  the  women  of  Mil- 
waukee to  attend  a  meeting  to  consider  the  best  methods  of 
advancing  the  interests  of  Milwaukee  college,  twenty-two 
presented  themselves  at  the  "  Athenseum,"  December  ISth, 
1890.  The  chairman  was  Mrs.  Winlield  Smith,  and  the  sec- 
retary, Mrs.  J.  H.  Warner. 

Mrs.  Warner  stated  the  object  of  the  meeting  to  be  that 
the  women  of  Milwaukee  should  have  an  opportunity  of 
banding  themselves  together  to  assist  in  raising  an  endow- 
ment fund,  three  gentlemen  having  subscribed  the  sum  of 
f  5,000  each,  provided  the  amount  should  be  raised  to  $50,000 
by  January  1st,  1892. 

Mrs.  W.  G.  Fitch  presented  a  plan  which  was  not  calcu- 
lated to  raise  any  large  sum  of  money,  but  by  inducing 
women  to  become  members,  the  "  ball  should  be  kept  rolling," 
and  people  should  be  kept  interested. 

The  club  was  organized  and  officers  elected,  of  whom 
Mrs.  Fitch  was  president,  and  $2,500  was  pledged  within  a 
few  days.  At  the  second  meeting  a  more  definite  plan  took 
form  and  a  perfect  and  thorough  organization  took  place. 

The  society  was  not  acting  at  all  in  opposition  to  the 
trustees,  but  desired  to  be  a  sort  of  right  hand  to  that  body 
and  act  entirely  in  accord  with  it. 

Money  poured  in  with  all  the  ease  that  it  might  do  if  it 
had  been  its  custom,  and  before  long  so  much  had  been  given 
into  the  hands  of  the  trustees  that  it  was  necessary  to  incor- 
porate, in  order  that  the  association  might  hold  its  own  money 
and  dictate  its  own  terms. 

Seventy-five  thousand  dollars  had  come  like  magic ; 
137,000  was  bequeathed  to  the  college  by  Mr.  E.  D.  Holton, 
and  manv  generous  citizens  gave  various  sums  ranging  up 
to  $5,000.' 

It  was  proposed  by  Mrs.  H.  R.  Vedder,  who  succeeded 
Mrs.  Fitch  as  president,  in  January,  1892,  that  various  chairs 
should  be  endowed,  thus  placing  each  department  upon  its 
own  basis,  beginning  with  a  Mary  Mortimer  chair. 


712  ^IILWAUKEE   COLLEGE. 

Miss  Beecher,  is  your  shade  rising  again  to  direct  us  ? 
Does  not  this  plan  savor  of  your  own,  a  faculty  of  five  shall 
liave  equal  power  and  authority  ?  Shall  it  be,  after  all,  as  you 
desired  ? 

The  friends  of  Miss  Mortimer  are  gladly  giving  large 
and  small  amounts  as  they  desire,  and  not  many  years  hence 
shall  see  a  college  in  plan  and  detail  with  a  generous  endow- 
ment, sending  forth  such  women  as  the  world  needs. 

The  influence  of  the  school  has  always  been  for  the  up- 
building of  the  character,  toning  down  the  roughness  and 
polishing  the  whole  till  an  evenly  balanced  mind,  a  womanly 
disposition  and  a  Christian  principle  dominated  every  life. 

The  Milwaukee  College  Endowment  association,  besides 
its  quarterly  and  annual  meetings,  which  the  charter  pro- 
vides for,  holds  monthly  social  and  intellectual  meetings, 
when  bright  women  read  bright  papers,  followed  by  open 
discussion  of  the  subject,  which  show  the  interest  that  the 
members  take.  The  many  applications  for  membership 
reveal  the  influence  that  the  society  has  inspired  in  the 
women  of  Milwaukee,  who  have  ever  been  ready  to  be  edu- 
cated and  now  show  themselves  equally  ready  to  educate,  if 
not  in  actual  fact,  at  least  in  the  example  they  set  by  their 
membership  in  this  association. 

Lillian  Bacon  Mallory. 


Layton  Art  Gallery. 


Among  the  many  attractions  of  Milwaukee  is  one  that 
is  daily  growing  in  interest  and  influence,  the  Layton  art 
gallery. 

It  stands  upon  the  site  formerly  occupied  by  St.  Paul's 
church,  at  the  corner  of  Jefferson  and  Mason  streets,  and 
presents  an  inviting  aspect  to  the  passer-by.  The  building 
is  of  white  stone,  smooth-faced,  and  designed  by  Mr.  E.  T. 
Mix,  after  the  style  called  Thompsonian  Greek.  It  is  a  sin- 
gle story  in  height,  being  intended  for  pictures  and  statuary 
only,  and  the  simplicity  of  the  tall  granite  pillars  and  the 
delicate,  graceful  carving  around  the  windows  and  cornices 
lend  a  dignified  air  to  the  building,  which  is  not  often  seen. 

The  floor  plan  is  convenient  and  commodious,  providing 
a  hall  for  statuary  and  three  large  galleries  for  pictures, 
besides  private  rooms  for  the  curator  and  one  or  two  small 
rooms  besides. 

The  gallery  was  formally  opened  and  presented  to  the 
city  by  Mr.  Frederick  Layton  April  6th,  1887,  and  given  into 
the  control  of  twelve  trustees,  of  whom  Mr.  Layton  has 
always  been  president. 

An  endowment  of  $100,000  accompanied  the  gift,  so 
that  pictures  might  be  supplied  from  time  to  time  without 
the  necessity  of  waiting  for  special  gifts  from  friends. 

A  few  paintings  were  immediately  placed  upon  the 
walls,  among  them  an  oil  portrait  of  Mr.  Layton,  painted  by 
George  Yewell,  of  New  York,  and  presented  by  the  subject ; 
and  also  a  marble  bust  of  the  president,  executed  by  Albano, 
of  Florence,  and  the  gift  of  Mr.  Layton.  Another  bust  of 
Mr.  Layton  was  executed  by  Trentanove,  of  Florence,  and 
presented  to  the  gallery  by  Wallis  and  Son,  of  London. 

Mr.  Layton  is  one  of  Milwaukee's  oldest  citizens,  having 
come  to  the  city  in  1843.  An  Englishman  by  birth,  he  is 
thoroughly  American  in  sympathy,  and  devoted  to  Milwau- 
kee from  long  and  pleasant  associations  vvith  her  people.  In 
1845  he  undertook  the  packing  business  with  his  father,  and 
has  maintained  an  untarnished  business  record  and  unsul- 
lied reputation  ;  and  through  him  perhaps,  more  than  any 

713 


714  LAYTON  ART  GALLERY. 

one  person,  has  come  the  high  standard  that  the  provision 
trade  of  Milwaukee  holds  to-day,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
For  eight  years,  from  1853  to  1861,  he  was  associated  with 
John  Plankinton  in  the  same  business,  while  he  still  held 
his  partnership  in  his  father's  firm.  He  is  a  man  of  quiet 
disposition,  fond  of  travel  and  study,  and  his  liberality  has 
shown  itself  always  in  his  private  as  well  as  his  public  life, 
finally  culminating  in  his  beautiful  gift  to  the  city. 

The  five  years  of  the  life  of  this  institution  have  shown 
how  much  such  a  place  is  needed  and  how  much  it  is  appre- 
ciated by  those  who  come  in  contact  with  it.  No  new  picture 
is  given  or  bought  that  is  not  made  the  subject  of  conversa- 
tion, and  of  newspaper  notice,  and  the  question,  "  Have  you 
seen  the  new  picture  at  the  Layton  gallery  ? "  is  one  that 
greets  one  on  all  sides.  Visitors  to  the  city  are  glad  to  spend 
a  part  of  their  time  within  its  walls,  and  artists  enjoy  the 
opportunity  to  study  the  works  of  some  of  the  world's  great- 
est living  painters. 

Three  days  of  every  week  the  doors  are  open  to  the 
public,  beside  Sunday  afternoon,  when  the  rooms  are  filled 
with  those  whose  week  days  are  crowded  and  who  enjoy  a 
quiet  hour  in  the  company  of  art.  Two  days  a  week  an 
admission  of  twenty-five  cents  is  charged,  to  give  the  artists 
who  go  to  copy  pictures  more  freedom  from  intrusion. 

It  was  a  long  time,  about  four  years  after  the  opening  of 
the  gallery,  before  it  was  opened  on  Sunday ;  but  finally 
popular  sentiment  prevailed,  and  for  two  hours  in  winter 
and  three  in  summer,  the  public  is  admitted  Sunday  after- 
noons. The  large  attendance  every  week  attests  the  appre- 
ciation of  the  citizens  of  Milwaukee  and  bears  witness  to  the 
growing  influence  of  the  gallery.  Milwaukee  has  not  failed 
to  give  evidence  of  her  gratitude  for  the  generous  gift  of  Mr. 
Layton,  both  to  him  personally  and  in  following  his  example 
in  gifts  to  the  institution. 

After  the  city  had  for  some  time  been  the  owner  of  Lay- 
ton  art  gallery,  a  number  of  leading  citizens  proposed  a 
torch-light  procession  or  some  such  public  demonstration,  in 
honor  of  Mr.  Layton  and  as  an  expression  of  public  grati- 
tude for  his  gift.  But,  with  characteristic  modesty  and  deli- 
cacy, he  suggested  that  for  this  personal  tribute  there  be 
substituted  contributions  for  the  purchase  of  a  picture,  say- 
ing that  that  would  be  an  enduring  testimony  of  their  appre- 
ciation. The  picture  has  not  as  yet  been  procured;  but  when 
the  money  is  raised  it  will  be  purchased  from  Carl  M^arr, 


LAYTON   ART  GALLERY.  715 

whom  Milwaukee  has  the  honor  of  claiming  as  a  native,  and 
who  has  expressed  the  pleasure  he  feels  at  being  chosen  to 
represent  his  fellow-citizens. 

To  say  that  this  gallery  is  the  idol  of  Mr.  Layton  is  to 
say  no  more  than  the  truth.  He  loves  it  as  only  one  who 
appreciates  pictures  is  capable  of  doing,  and  in  his  trips  to 
New  York  and  across  the  ocean  it  seems  never  to  leave  his 
mind,  for  he  rarely  returns  without  some  new  addition  to  its 
treasures. 

Mr.  Layton  is  often  commissioned  on  behalf  of  other 
donors  to  make  selections  for  the  gallery,  but  more  fre- 
quently the  selection  is  his  own  gift. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  mention  the  many  gifts  that 
have  come  with  liberal  hand  from  the  men  and  women  of 
Miwaukee,  as  well  as  some  from  other  cities.  They  are  all 
treasures  of  art,  nothing  but  what  is  choice  and  rare  adorns 
the  walls. 

The  attention  of  the  visitor,  as  he  enters  the  door  of  the 
corridor,  is  attracted  by  a  picture  hanging  immediately  oppo- 
site, on  the  east  wall  of  the  east  gallery.  It  is  the  gift  of 
Frederick  Layton,  bought  from  the  Stewart  collection,  and 
the  work  of  Wm.  Adolphe  Bouguereau,  the  subject,  "  Homer 
and  His  Guide."  The  picture  is  not  in  Bougaereau's  usual 
style,  although  idealistic  in  subject ;  the  familiar  Cupid  and 
the  delicate  girl  are  not  seen ;  instead  there  is  the  powerful 
figure  of  the  aged  Homer,  made  helpless  by  his  blindness, 
led  by  a  half-grown  boy  through  the  wilderness.  The  colors 
are  soft  and  the  flesh  such  as  only  that  master  can  paint, 
and  the  pathos  of  the  subject  is  strongly  brought  out. 

Close  to  "  Homer  and  His  Guide  "  hangs  a  picture  by 
Adolphe  Schreyer,  who  is  so  famous  for  his  Arabian  horses. 
This  is  not  perfectly  characteristic  of  him,  for,  although  the 
subject  is  horses,  they  are  Wallachian  post  horses  dashing 
along  the  road  upon  their  errand.  The  idea  is  magnificently 
carried  out  and  might  make  the  artist  famous  were  he  not 
already  without  a  rival  in  his  line.  He  is  now  sixty-six 
years  of  age,  but  he  continues  to  paint  his  beloved  horses 
when  his  health  will  allow  it.  The  "  Wallachian  Post  Car- 
riza  "  is  77  by  46  inches  and  is  the  gift  of  Mr.  Washington 
Becker. 

To  the  right  hangs  a  canvas,  99  by  75  inches,  presented 
by  T.  A.  Chapman  in  1891.  It  is  quite  characteristic  of  its 
painter,  Ridgvvay  Knight,  and  many  a  happy  smile  has 
overspread  the  spectator's  face  looking  at  the  simple  shtp- 


716  LAYTON   ART   GALLERY. 

herd  boy  and  his  two  simpering  girl  visitors.  His  sheep 
are  seen  grazing  at  some  distance,  tended  only  by  the  dog, 
while  he  entertains  his  friends. 

Mr.  Knight  is  an  American  artist,  of  whom  his  country- 
men are  justly  proud.  He  studied  under  Meissonier  for  a 
time  during  his  long  sojourn  in  Paris.  He  has  four  times 
taken  a  medal,  twice  at  international  expositions,  and  in 
1889,  the  Legion  of  Honor.  He  loves  to  paint  the  peasant 
girls  of  Brittany,  with  their  quaint  faces  and  wooden  shoes, 
and  the  simplicity  of  peasant  life  everywhere  seems  to  touch 
him  and  is  his  favorite  theme. 

A  picture  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  Knight  is  one  of 
nearly  the  same  size,  entitled  "  Minding  the  Flock,"  by  Julien 
Dupre,  a  native  of  Paris,  the  gift  of  Edward  Sanderson.  The 
scene  is  laid,  like  the  last  mentioned,  in  Brittany,  but  the 
shepherd  has  no  companion  save  his  dog. 

^  At  the  north  end  of  the  same  room  hangs  a  large  canvas 
by  Emile  Van  Marcke,  a  Frenchman,  who  studied  under 
Troyon.  "  The  Water  Gate"  was  purchased  at  the  Seney  sale 
in  New  York,  and  given  to  the  gallery  by  Mr.  P.  D.  Armour, 
who,  although  living  in  Chicago,  never  forgets  Milwaukee, 
where  he  got  his  start  in  life. 

Upon  the  opposite  wall  hangs  "  The  Hospital  Garden,"  by 
C.  Frithjof  Smith,  presented  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Metcalf,  a  trustee 
up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  The  scene  depicted  shows  the 
old  and  young  convalescents  enjoying  the  sunshine  and  fresh 
air,  a  few  in  the  foreground  taking  their  lunch  as  they  gossip 
and  the  children  play  together. 

"  Sunday  Afternoon,"  by  Franz  von  Defregger,  is  the 
gift  of  Miss  E.  A.  Plankinton ;  and  "  The  Cabaret,"  by  Jules 
Dupre,  that  of  Rev.  David  Keene,  D.  D.,  a  trustee  till  his 
death. 

The  Lay  ton  gallery  is  honored  by  the  presence  of  Rosa 
Bonheur  in  a  small  piece,  "Two  Goats."  They  are  not  ordinary 
goats,  but  aristocratic  mountain  goats;  and  only  their  heads 
timidly  appear  upon  the  canvas.  It  is  needless  to  repeat  her 
history — how  she  studied  under  her  father  and  how  she  soon 
outstripped  him  in  her  genius,  how  she  loved  animal  life  and 
lived  among  her  pets,  how  she  rose  from  one  dignity  to  an- 
other until  she  was  decorated  with  the  "  Commander's  Cross 
of  the  Royal  Order  of  Isabella,"  how  she  was  the  first  woman 
who  ever  wore  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  ;  all  that  is 
familiar  to  everybody,  and  it  is  necessary  only  to  state  that 
the  gallery  possesses  a  Rosa  Bonheur  and  the  world  will 
know  how  rich  a  possession  it  is. 


LAYTON  ART  GALLERY,  717 

Another  valuable  possession  is  "At  tlie  Opera  Ball,  1792," 
by  Charles  Louis  Muller,  called  Muller  of  Paris,  from  the 
city  of  his  birth.  He  is  an  historical  and  portrait  painter, 
and  his  principal  work  is  the  famous  "  Roll  Call  of  the  Last 
Victims  of  the  Reign  of  Terror." 

A  memorial  of  the  late  Edward  P.  Allis,  given  by  his 
wife  and  daughters,  hangs  in  the  north  room.  It  is  a  wood- 
gatherer  with  his  child,  painted  by  Jules  Bastien-Lepage, 
the  artist  who  figures  so  conspicuously  in  the  journal  of 
Marie  Bashkirtsetf.  His  greatest  work  is  the  one  so  oft^n 
mentioned  in  the  Journal,  "Joan  of  Arc,"  which  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Metropolitan  museum  in  New  York  city. 

The  latest  acquisition  of  the  gallery  is  one  by  Munkacsy, 
entitled  "  In  the  Studio."  It  is  in  reality  a  portrait  group  of 
the  artist,  his  wife  and  child ;  but  instead  of  the  old-fashioned 
grouping  he  has  followed  the  custom  of  to-day  of  appar- 
ently catching  the  subject  of  the  picture  in  some  every-day 
occupation,  a  snatch  of  his  life  and  expression  of  his  person- 
ality. This  has  been  done  in  the  picture  just  mentioned. 
Munkacsy  has  invited  Madame  to  see  and  criticise  his  picture, 
which  stands  upon  an  easel  partly  finished,  and  she  is  ex- 
amining and  talking  about  it,  while  he  sits  in  critical 
thoughtfulness  upon  the  table  beside  her.  Their  young 
daughter  stands  with  her  doll  behind  the  easel,  a  picture  by 
herself. 

This  is  by  no  means  an  exhaustive  enumeration  of  the 
pictures  in  the  gallery  which  are  by  famous  artists,  and 
there  are  many  of  little  fame  here  represented  whose  names 
are  destined  to  become  great.  To  mention  all  who  are 
worthy  of  praise  would  be  to  include  the  complete  catalogue 
of  the  Layton  gallery,  which  would  be  impossible  in  so  short 
a  sketch,  and,  indeed,  words  are  small  praise,  the  pictures 
must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated. 

Lilian  Bacon  Mallory. 


Index. 


Academies  and  seminaries,  7,  14, 
1(3,  45,  197-220,  r)47-(>So. 

Agi-icultural  college,  34,  39-42, 104; 
experiment  station,  40,  105;  in- 
stitutes, 40,  106,  37S-o5X). 

American  Women's  Educational 
Association,  094,  700. 

Appleton  public  schools,  537-540. 

Arbor  day,  71,  601,  010,  022. 

Arena  public  schools,  593. 

Arcadia  public  schools,  575. 

Art  and  science  class,  708.  , 

Attendance,  statistics  of,  1,24,  08. 

Attendance,  compulsory,  1-3,  544. 

Baraboo  public  schools,  599,  611. 

Barneveld  public  schools,  593,  597. 

Barron  county  public  schools,  032. 

Beloit  college,  1:^-153. 

"Bennett  law,"  3. 

Bible  case,  Edgerton,  74. 

Black  Hawk  (town)  pubUc  schools, 
013. 

Black  Hawk  war,  11,  134. 

Blind,  school  for,  77,  333-347. 

Bloomington  public  schools,  582. 

Boscobel  public  schools.  582. 

Buffalo  county  public  schools,028. 

Carroll  college,  202-215 

Catholic,  education  and  institu- 
tions, 000-090;  normal  school, 
249,  670  ;  parochial  schools,  660, 
682;*  of  Green  Bay,  470. 

Certificates,  teachers'.  15,  601. 

Certificates,  state,  51,  63. 

Clyde  public  schools,  593. 

Cobb  public  schools,  594. 

Co-education,  14,  38,  96,  100.  244. 

Colleges,  normal  instruction  in, 
45,  47,  129,  191,  239,  244-248,  251 ; 
special  articles  on,  117-196. 

Columbus  day,  71,  475. 

Compulsory  attendance,  1-3,  544. 

Concordia  college,  051-658. 

Constitution  of  Wisconsin,  adopt- 
ed, 19 ;  introduced  in  schools, 
70  ;  provision  for  education,  22, 
233. 

Cooking  schools,  70,  454. 

Courses  of  study,  49,  59,  67. 

Curriculum  required  by  constitu- 
tion, 67. 

Deaf,  Catholic  school  for,  375; 
oral  method  for,  356-360;  pub- 
lic day-schools  for.  354-375,  455  ; 
text-books  for,  373 ;  W^isconsin 
school  for,  322-332,  354. 

Dictionary. supplied  to  schools,70. 

Diplomas  countersigned  for  state 
pertjfic^tes,  51,  63. 


District  libraries,  72;  ofBcers,  15, 

55  ;  schools,  15,  22 ;  system,  54- 

56;  taxation,  56-57. 
Districts,  joint,  55. 
Dodgeville  public  schools,  591-594. 
Dominican  Sisters,  685,  689. 
Downer  college,  197-201. 
Early  schools   in  Wisconsin,  78- 

82. 
Eau  Claire  public  schools,  554-561. 
Edgerton  Bible  case,  74. 
English  language,  3,  21,  67,  661. 
Evening  schools,  75,  451-452. 
Examinations,  teachers',  64,  65. 
Exhibits,  educational,76,  448,  533, 

610. 
Experiment  station,  agricultural, 

40,  106. 
Extension,  university,  43,  108,  391. 
Federal  appropriations,  40;  land 

grants,  10,  14,  22,  24,  29,  34,  38, 

45,  89. 
Fines,  penal,  22,  31. 
Flags,  national,  71,  564. 
Florence  public  schools,  562-569. 
Fond  du  Lac  public  schools,  18, 

66,  541-546. 
Foreign   languages   in    public 

schools,  70. 
Forfeitures,  accruing  to  state,  22, 

30  ;  of  lands,  46. 
French  settlers,  10,  79. 
Free  high    schools,    59-62 ;    text 

books,  4. 
German  language,  in  Milwaukee 

schools,  458-460. 
German -American  teachers'  sem- 
inary, 317-319. 
German-English  Academy,  317. 
Government  schools,  11,  82. 
Graded  schools,  49,  58-60  ;  course 

of  study  for,  59. 
Grant  county  schools,  578-584. 
Green  Bay  schools,  466^78. 
Harrisburg  schools,  602. 
Hazel  Green  schools,  582. 
Highland  schools,  594. 
High  schools,  41,  58,  460 ;  accred- 
ited to  university,  60,  103  ;  free, 

59-62. 
"  Hillside  Home,"  597. 
Historical  society,  state,  108,  392, 

395-405. 
Independent   cities,    55,    57,    68, 

73. 
Indian  schools,  11,  14,  78,  80-83. 
Industrial  school,  for  boys,  6,  348; 

for  girls,   6,  350;    training,  75, 

325,  339,  669. 


718 


INDEX — COKTIN  UEt). 


719 


Institutes,  teachers',  29,  44,  48-52, 
110,  242,  294-3(14;  farmers',  40, 
106, 378. 

Institute  conductors,  301. 

Instruction,  etliical,  75  ;  in  Eng- 
lish language.  21,  67,  661 ;  in 
foreign  languages,  70 ;  in  his- 
tory of  Wis.  and  U.  S.,  70 
Jesuit  methods  of,  664  ;  obliga 
tory,  67 ;  in  physiology,  70 
unsectarian,  14,  22,  74,  344,  361. 

Iowa  county  schools,  585-598. 

Janesville  public  schools,  524- 
536. 

Jefferson  public  schools,  570-574; 
Liberal  institute,  571. 

Jesuit  methods  of  instruction, 
664. 

Journal  of  Education,  430-434. 

Kemper  Hall,  222-224. 
.Kenosha,  free  public  school  at, 
17,511-523. 

Kindergartens,  6,  49,  75,  283,  341, 
4.56,  534,  565.  611. 

Ladies'  art  and  science  class,  708. 

Lancaster  schools,  581. 

Lands,  appraisal  of,  23,  26,33,  90; 
commissioners  of,  23,  28 ;  do- 
nated by  cougi-ess,  10, 14,  22, 24, 
29,  34,  38,  45,  89  ;  five  per  cent, 
of  sales  of,  22,  23,  30  ;  forfeited, 
46 ;  frauds  investigated,  27,  28  ; 
sales  of,  24,  25,  34,  490  ;  swamp, 
28,  45-47,  250. 

Lawrence  university,  117-132. 

Layton  art  gallery,  713-717. 

Legislation,  common  schools,  13, 
15,  28,  522  ;  university,  13,  37,39. 

Library,  association,  state,  419; 
academy  of  arts  and  sciences, 
407;  Historical  society,  108.401- 
405  ;  Milwaukee  public,  422-427; 
University  of  Wisconsin,  112. 

Libraries,  college,  421 ;  district, 
72.  464  ;  free  city,  413-421  ; 
school,  71-73,  410-412;  for  sub- 
scribers only,  421 ;  statistics  of, 
420-421  ;  township,  22,  72,  410. 

Linden  public  schools,  594. 

Lutheran  schools,  597  :  in  Green 
Bay,  478 ;  system  in  Wisconsin, 
640-646. 

"Lutherische  Schulzeitung,"  644. 

Madison  public  schools,  479-495. 

Manual  training.  76,  283,  317,  325, 
455,461,539,557. 

Marquette  college,  662. 

Michigan  school  code,  13,  15 ; 
school  lands,  26, 34,  90. 

Mifflin  public  schools,  595. 

Milton  college,  1H9-196. 

Milwaukee  college,  691-712. 

Milwaukee  and  Rock  river  canal, 
20,  30. 


Milwaukee,  early  settlement,  19, 
25;  incorporation,  21,  440;  li- 
brary, public,  422;  museum, 428; 
normal  school,  267,  447;  public 
schools.  21,  436-465. 

Mineral  Point  schools,  585-591, 
595. 

Moscow  schools,  595. 

Museum,  Milwaukee  public,  428. 

Music  in  schools,  461 . 

National  educational  association. 
66,  362. 

Normal  department  of  state  uni- 
versity, 37,  38.  45.  233-237,  243  ; 
in  academies  and  colleges,  47, 
129,  191,  239,  244;  instruction 
for  deaf,  359,  375,  668. 

Normal  schools,  22,  43-51,  231-293, 
319,  359,  375,  670;  board  of  r - 
gents,  239,  244,  256 ;  courses  of 
study,  274-280 ;  enrollment,  273 ; 
faculties,  261,  271,  287;  fund, 
29,47,50,249-256;  giaduates, 42, 
51,63,264,285. 

North  American  gymnastic  union, 
319. 

Northwest  territory,  9. 

Northwestern  university,  647. 

Oral  method  for  deaf,  (see  art. 
public  schools  for  deaf). 

"Ordinance  of  1787,"  9,  134. 

Orphans'  home,  soldiers',  6. 

Oshkosh  normal  school,  263,  264. 

People's  institute,  392. 

Phalanx,  Wisconsin,  10,  154. 

Phonological  institute,  355,  455. 

Physical  culture,  343,  449. 

Pio  Nono  college,  670. 

Platteville  academy,  579 ;  normal 
school,  261  ;  schools,  578. 

Polk  county  schools,  615-623. 

Population,  school,  20,  24,29,68; 
of  state,  10,11,  24,81. 

Prairie  du  Sac  schools,  602,  613. 

Private  schools,  8,  12,  22,  24,  58, 
79. 

Publications,  educational,  430, 
644. 

Pulaski  schools,  596. 

Racine  public  schools,  496  510. 

Reedsburg  schools,  602,  612. 

Religious  exercises,  74,  75. 

Ridgeway  public  school-,  596. 

Ripon  college,  154-188. 

River  Falls  normal  school,  265. 

St.  Catherine's  academy,  676. 

St.  Clara's  academy,  085. 

St.  Croix  county  schools,  624-627.- 

St.  John's  institute,  668. 

St.  Lawrence  college,  675. 

Salaries,  principals,  65, 465;  teach- 
ers, 65,  i65.  549,  566;  superin- 
tendents, 22,  53. 

Sauk  City  schools,  600,  611. 


720 


INDEX — CONTlNUEn. 


Sauk  county  schools,  599-614. 

School  adniiuistration,  67-71 ;  dis- 
tricts, 15,  52,  55,  57 ;  houses.  22, 
33,  68-70,  81  ;  laws,  13, 15,  28,  522; 
libraries,  71-73,  410-412  ;  popu- 
lation, 20,  24,  29,  68  ;  suffrage, 
15,  16,  67  ;  tax,  15,  21,  29,  32,  40, 
56,  67. 

School  for  the  blind,  5,  77,  333- 
347  ;  for  deaf,  322-332,  354  ;  of 
history  and  economics,  42,  107, 
109;  public,  at  Kenosha,  511- 
528  ;  state  public,  for  neglected 
and  dependent  children,  6. 

School  fund,  apportionment,  15. 

23,  24  32,  588;  constitutional 
provision  for,  22  ;  history,  23-33; 
investment  of,  33,  35. 

Schools.  Catholic,  374.  668  ;  cook- 
ing, 76  ;  day,  for  deaf,  5,  354-375, 
454  ;  for  dependent  classes,  5  ; 
early,  in  Wisconsin,  11,  13,  17, 
18,  58,  78,  294,  436,  483,  513,  578, 
602,  616  ;  evening,  75,  474,  486  ; 
government,  11,  83  ;  graded,  49, 
58-60;  high,  41,  58-62;  inde- 
pendent city,  54,  57,  68,73  ;  In- 
dian, 11,  14,  78,  80-83;  manual 
training,  76  ;  military  post,  11, 
81,  467,  469 ;  mission,  11,  82, 
470 ;  in  Milwaukee,  20,  436 ; 
normal,  43-51,  231-293,  319,  359, 
375,    670;     private,    8,    12,    22, 

24,  58,  79,  467,  472,  485,  581,  600  ; 
Slimmer,  40, 42, 109, 314,  393,  610, 
622. 

Shawano  county  schools,  634. 

Sinsinawa  Mound,  685. 

Sixteenth  section,  10,  23,  26. 

Soldiers'  orphans'  home,  6. 

Speculation  in  territorial  period, 
25. 

Spring  Green  school,  613. 

State  certificates,  51,  63  ;  control 
of  education,  7,  36,  38,  92,  r»78 ; 
Historical  society,  108,  392,  395- 
405  ;  library  association,  41!) ; 
school  tax,  29,  32,  40  ;  teachers' 
association,  44,  66,  240,  305-313. 

Summer  schools,  40,  42,  109,  314, 
393,  610,  622. 

Superintendent,  city,  52,  54;  coun- 
ty, 52,  53;  state,  22,  51,  193; 
town,  51,  52,  617,  619. 

Supervision  of  schools,  51-54. 

Swamp  land  fund,  28,  45-47,  250- 
250. 

Teachers'  certificates,  15,  65.  601 ; 
institutes,  29,  44,  48,  52,  110, 
242,  294-305,  610  ;  qualificatistfis, 
62-66,  230,  565  ;  salaries,  65,  465, 
549,  566 ;  summer  schools,  40, 
109,  314. 


Tf  achers'  Association,  state,  44, 
66,  305-313. 

Text  books,  3,  373,  450,  487  ;  com- 
mission to  report  on,  5. 

Town  commissioners,  15,  18,  51 ; 
school  libraries,  72 ;  superin- 
tendents, 51,  62,  619. 

Township  system,  56,  57,  567,  632. 

Truancy,  2. 

Trust  funds,  23-33,  35,38-41,  45, 
50. 

Uniformity  in  text  books.  5. 

University  school,  Kenosha, 
225. 

University  of  Wisconsin,  athlet- 
ics, 114  ;  attendance,  43  ;  build- 
ings, 37-39,  92,  100, 114  ;  co-edu- 
cation in,  38,  96,  100,  244 ;  de- 
partments, 42,  104;  degrees,  42, 
111;  elective  studies,  110;  en- 
dowment, 13,  39,  89  ;  establish- 
ment, 13,  23,  36,  91  ;  fund  and 
income,  23,33-41,  88-93,  98,  100, 
116 ;  graduate  department,  43, 
108,  115;  group  system,  110; 
joint  debates.  111  ;  law  school, 
103  ;  libraries,  112  ;  literary  so- 
cieties. Ill  ;  normal  department, 
37,  45,  233,  243;  pedagogy  at, 
228;  reorganization,  37-39,  96; 
school  of  history  and  econo- 
mics, 42, 107,  109  ;  and  state  His- 
torical society,  403  ;  synoptical 
lectures,  110. 

University  extension,  43,  108-110, 
391-394. 

Unsectarian  instruction,  14,  22, 
74,344,361. 

Waldwick  schools,  597. 

War  tax,  direct,  national,  30,  50. 

Waukesha  public  schools,  547- 
553. 

Wayland  academy,  216-222. 
"Whitewater  normal  school,   231, 
262. 

Wisconsin,  admitted  as  state,  19  ; 
settlement,  11,  35,  466,  479,  511 ; 
territory,  10  ;  territorial  period, 
12-19. 

Wisconsin  academy  of  arts  and 
sciences,  406-409. 

Wisconsin  Phalanx,  10,  154. 

Wisconsin  phonological  institute, 
35f,  455. 

Women,  as  teachers,  05;  as  county 
superintendents,  66,  626  ;  wages 
of,  65. 

Women's  club  of  Milwaukee, 
703. 

Women's  educational  association, 
American,  694,  700. 

Wyoming  schools,  597. 


V 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  CACILITV 


lllliliii  II  III  ml  111  III  Mil  1 1! 
A    000  694  404    5 


